No More Face Masks? DOH Recommends ‘Alert Level 0’ to IATF

The Department of Health (DOH) proposed a more lenient COVID-19 risk classification, the “Alert Level 0,” to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) after several areas in the country recorded lower than 1,000 COVID-19 daily cases.

According to DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III, the proposal was considered since Metro Manila and the other 38 areas under Alert Level 1 are doing “so far, so good.” Duque clarified that Alert Level 0 remains under the approval of the IATF. Some metrics and elements that need to be addressed include the possibility of mask removal, hygiene practices, sufficient ventilations, and other factors.

As of March 10, there are 592 confirmed new COVID-19 cases reported, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to more than 3.6 million