IATF Scraps COVID-19 Growth Rate in Determining Alert Levels

COVID-19’s two-week growth rate is no longer considered in determining the country’s alert levels.

By: Mira Maestrecampo | July 04, 2022

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The Philippines is now under ‘pandemic fatigue’, due to the long years in the state of COVID-19.

Image: Manila Public Information Office Facebook page

The national government’s Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) shall now disregard the accounts of the growth rate of COVID cases in placing alert level classifications in the country, as Malacañang disseminated last June 28.

As this announcement concerning the pandemic was publicized, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases or IATF-MEID has approved the sub-Technical Working Group for Data Analytics recommendations. The recommendations from the said authorized body present new metrics as the new guidelines in setting the country’s new alert level classifications.

In the new metrics, the two-week growth rate of COVID cases has been scrapped and is no longer considered when assigning new alert level placements. One of the determining factors in placing alert level classifications will now be based on average daily COVID attack rates in an area and its current thresholds. [1]

Regarding this basis shift in determining an area’s alert level system, Maria Rosario Vergeire, the Health Undersecretary, says that the 2-week growth rate is no longer significant to the record of COVID cases, and it cannot fully reflect the pandemic situation of the country. [2] This claim is still valid up to date, regardless of the increase of infections recorded in the past two weeks.

Outgoing Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the same claim, labeling the 2-week positive growth rate as an ‘unnecessary and alarmist metric’. [3]

Instead, classifying alert levels in respective areas in the country shall be measured by looking at the average daily attack rate, including the record of new COVID cases plus the healthcare utilization. The health authorities shall now give more weight to the record of healthcare utilization and hospitalization in an area before assigning its alert level classification.

A local area shall expect no heightening of alert level classifications though it is considered a high-risk area.

New alert level systems shall now be applied on a regional level.

The new alert level metrics paradigm shift is in line with the recent updates of the COVID-19 case bulletin. The health sector wants the Filipinos to focus on the significance of vaccination coverage rather than the case numbers. The importance of acknowledging the records of critical COVID cases and the total record of hospital admissions should also be tracked.

The country has also shown a 21% decrease in minimum health and safety protocol compliance. The Department of Health encourages the Department of Interior and Local Government to strengthen the application of the required minimum public health standards and how the Filipino constituents follow the said health implementations.

Visit Yoorekka Magazine for more travel and COVID-19 updates and guidelines in Bohol and Cebu!

Sources:
[1] https://bit.ly/3OSk6ZV
[2] https://bit.ly/3AgFT9y
[3] https://bit.ly/3a3Gscj

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About Mira Maestrecampo

Mira - with a long surname - is a girl who dreams of becoming a news anchor someday, in God's perfect time. She loves to read books and eat different kinds of cheesy or saucy food. A coffee addict and a dog lover, she loves long hugs, hot coffee on an afternoon break with friends, or simply sleeping all day with her stuffed unicorns.

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