Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal to be placed under Alert Level 3 from Wednesday

MANILA, January 4 ------ Bulacan, Cavite and Rizal will be placed under Alert Level 3 beginning Wednesday, January 5, to 15 following a "sharp increase of COVID-19 cases," Malacañang said Tuesday. The Inter-Agency Task Force approved Monday the recommendation of its sub-Technical Working Group on Data Analytics, according to acting presidential spokesperson Karlo Nograles.

Under Level 3, in-person classes, contact sports, fun fairs, live voice or wind instrument performances are prohibited, said Nograles. Cinemas are allowed to operate at 30-percent indoor capacity and 50-percent outdoor capacity, while the following are allowed at 30-percent indoor capacity but only for fully vaccinated individuals:

• Amusement parks

• Recreational venues

• Religious gatherings

• Licensure exams

• Dine-in services

• Personal care services

• Fitness studios, non-contact sports

• Film, music, TV production

Calabarzon, Metro Manila and Central Luzon are the top regions with new COVID-19 cases in the recent 2 weeks, the Department of Health said in its latest case bulletin. The Philippines recorded Monday 4,084 new COVID-19 cases and 20.7 percent positivity rate as the health department classified the country as "high risk" for virus infections.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com