Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 6) — Over 9,000 people were caught violating protocols during the first day of implementation of Alert Level 2 in Metro Manila on Friday, the Philippine National Police has reported.
“Kahapon, sa buong maghapon, nakapagtala tayo ng 9,461 na violators,” PNP chief Guillermo Eleazar said in a government briefing on Saturday.
[Translation: Yesterday, we recorded 9,461 violators.]
Eleazar said “10%” of them violated curfew imposed on minors. The general curfew hours in Metro Manila from midnight to 4 a.m. were lifted on Nov. 4. But the curfew for minors in a number of localities in the capital region was still in effect, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority earlier said.
Eleazar said the average number of violators recorded per day when Metro Manila was under Alert Level 3 from Oct. 16 to Nov. 4 was 9,746.
Metro Manila was supposed to stay under Alert Level 3 until Nov. 14. But the Department of Health decided to downgrade the alert level classification of the capital region. The pandemic task force earlier approved the move to place Metro Manila under Alert Level 2 from November 5 to 21.
DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the decision to place Metro Manila under Alert Level 2 was not “sudden.” She explained that NCR’s shift was based on its “low risk” classification as reflected in the continuous drop in cases and COVID-19-related hospitalizations. She said less than 50% of the COVID-19 beds in the NCR currently are occupied.
