MANILA- Towns and component cities nationwide can be deescalated to the COVID-19 pandemic Alert Level 1 as long as they meet the conditions, Malacañang said on Friday.

Government implemented a 5-tier quarantine scheme for provinces, highly urbanized cities (HUCs), and independent component cities (ICC) in September last year.

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"Isinama [ng IATF] ang municipalities sa maaaring ma-de-escalate sa Alert Level 1. Kaugnay nito, idinagdag ang low-risk total bed utilization rate ng mga probinsiya o rehiyon bilang criterion sa component cities at sa mga municipalities," acting deputy presidential spokesperson Kris Ablan said.

Malacañang said areas that would meet the following criteria can shift to Alert Level 1:

• Low to minimal risk case classification.
• Total bed utilization rate of less than 50 percent.
• Full vaccination of 70 percent of its target population (denominator is 80 percent of its total population).
• Full vaccination of 80 percent of its target population in the elderly (denominator is 85 percent of its population).

For component cities and municipalities, the total bed capacity would be based on the province they belong to or their region.

Forty-eight areas, including the National Capital Region, are under the lowest alert level until the end of the month.

• Gov't extends Alert Level 1 in NCR; more areas ease restrictions

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