The Department of Health (DOH) clarified yesterday the Alert Level status of 26 areas mentioned in a recently issued Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) resolution for the remaining days of April.

The DOH said that the 26 provinces and cities under Alert Level 2 were not escalated from Level 1; rather, they have been under Alert Level 2 status since June 2022.

They also explained that they are under Alert Level 2 not because of a high number of cases.

“While these areas have reached low risk classifications for cases and utilization rates, these have vaccination rates lower than 70 percent of the target total and population,” the DOH statement read.

“Also, no province or city has been escalated to Alert Level 2 from Alert Level 1 since January 2023,” it added.

The Health department further encouraged the unvaccinated, unboosted or under-boosted to have the COVID jabs “as soon as possible while it is still free of charge, especially for senior citizens.”

DOH also said that while some hospitals have reported an uptick in COVID-19 admissions, no hospital has reported full capacity.

The DOH’s statement was released after the IATF issued Resolution No. 6-C last April 14, 2023, listing a number of areas under their respective alert level status.

The areas under Alert Level 2 are: Benguet, Ifugao, Quezon Province, Palawan, Camarines Norte, Masbate, Antique, Negros Occidental, Bohol, Cebu Province, Negros Oriental, Leyte, Western Samar, Lanao del Norte, Davao de Oro, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Davao Occidental, North Cotabato, Sarangani, Sultan Kudarat, the Dinagat Islands, Basilan, Maguindanao, Sulu, and Tawi-tawi.

However, the resolution was only uploaded to the Official Gazette on April 22, eight days after the resolution was made. (ABS-CBN News)