DOH: Christmas, Halloween mass gatherings still have restrictions

According to the Department of Health, mass gatherings for Halloween and Christmas parties are still not allowed this year.

In a public briefing on government television on Saturday, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the celebration can only be held in the family gathers and is in an open area as much as possible.

ADVERTISEMENT

Vergeire reminded that there are still restrictions where the public must be doubly careful in “3Cs”, or areas that are closed and crowded and close contact is unavoidable.

“Kung ’yung mga sinasabi na within the bubble of the family, maaari naman pong gawin. Kailangan lang talaga ’yung safety protocols ay ipatupad. Iyong 3Cs natin, i-recognize natin iyan na iyan po ’yung mga pinakamagbibigay ng impeksyon sa pamilya,” said Vergeire.

“At kung mayroong may sintomas, huwag na muna po tayong umattend ng mga ganitong party.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Vergeire, on the other hand, admitted that there is a high possibility that the rules in Metro Manila will be further relaxed under Alert Level 2 next month due to the continuous improvement of the situation.

According to Vergeire, 967 cases per day have been recorded in Manila in the past seven days.

DOH: Christmas, Halloween mass gatherings still have restrictions

According to the analysis of ABS-CBN Data Analytics and OCTA Research Group, the average case was 996 per day in the past week. This is the first time the 7-day average has been less than 1,000 in nearly three months or since July 28.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Napakalaki na po ng pagbaba ng mga kaso. Ang atin pong mga ospital ay medyo na-decongest na,” said Vergeire.

“Generally, bumaba na po ang utilization natin sa mga ospital. So, hopefully, by November, we can be able to deescalate and open up further our economy.”

COVID-19 beds use 39 percent, while 49 percent are in the ICU, according to a DOH report on Friday.

“Ngayon po, moderate risk classification tayo sa kaso. At ’pag tiningnan naman natin ang health system capacity natin, low risk na po tayo . . . So, looking at these figures, ’pag tiningan ho natin at magtuloy-tuloy po ang pagbaba ng kaso at ang mga tao sa ospital, we are seeing that the possibility of being deescalated to Level 2 to is very high,” said Vergeire.

Visit our Facebook page for more news updates.