MANILA, Philippines – The government’s coronavirus task force has placed Bulacan, Cavite, and Rizal under Alert Level 3 from January 5 to 15, Malacañang announced on Tuesday, January 4. It also decided on January 5 to place Laguna under Alert Level 3 from January 7 to January 15.

Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said in a statement that the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases approved the recommendation amid rising cases in these provinces.

“Due to a sharp increase of COVID-19 cases in the particular localities, the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) approved yesterday, January 3, 2022, the recommendation of its sub-Technical Working Group on Data Analytics to escalate Bulacan, Cavite, and Rizal to Alert Level 3,” said the acting presidential spokesperson.

“This shall take effect from January 5, 2022, until January 15, 2022,” Nograles added.

The decision was made a day after the Philippines tallied over 4,000 COVID-19 cases for the second straight day.

Meanwhile, Nograles on January 5 announced it would place Laguna also under Alert Level 3 from January 7 to January 15.

Nograles’ statement, which is available on Twitter, reads, “The IATF approved tonight, January 5, 2022, the recommendation of its sub-technical working group on data analytics to escalate Laguna to Alert Level 3 due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the province.”

https://twitter.com/OPSpox/status/1478740318438580225

Virus epicenter Metro Manila has been under Alert Level 3 since January 3 – also until January 15. The government escalated quarantine restrictions in the captial region on December 31, the same day the Department of Health (DOH) detected local cases of the Omicron variant.

In Metro Manila, mayors have agreed to prohibit unvaccinated residents from leaving their homes – except for essential tasks like buying goods or medical emergencies – under Alert Level 3. – Rappler.com