THE coronavirus disease (Covid-19) positivity rate in the National Capital Region (NCR) has further declined to 4.9 percent, slightly below the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended level of five percent, Octa Research fellow Dr. Guido David said on Tuesday, February 22, 2022.David said as of February 21, the positivity rate, or the number of people testing positive for coronavirus after getting tested in Metro Manila, is at 4.9 percent, while its average daily attack rate is at 2.85 (moderate risk) and reproduction rate is at .21 (very low risk).The healthcare utilization rate in the region is also at very low risk at 25 percent.David said the provinces of Batangas, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal were also under low risk classification for Covid-19 transmission while the province of Quezon further deescalated to very low risk.“Today is Twosday Tuesday, 2 22 22, and I am feeling optimistic about the numbers. Today could be the first time since the Omicron wave that we will have less than 1k new cases in the country,” he said.Meanwhile, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) officer-in-charge and general manager Romando Artes said local government units (LGUs) in the capital region is ready for the shift to Alert Level 1, which was tagged by the Department of Health (DOH) as the new normal, citing the preparation and Covid-19 response programs of the LGUs.Calls for the shift to Alert Level 1 were magnified by the continuous decrease of Covid-19 cases in the country.The country remained under low risk for Covid-19 transmission as of February 21.The Department of Health (DOH) reported a total 1,427 fresh Covid-19 cases on Monday, the lowest daily tally since December.But Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said that before further deescalating an area to Alert Level 1, it should first reach 80 percent Covid-19 vaccination coverage among its senior citizen and persons with comorbidities population.National Task Force chief implementer and vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said of the 90 million target, 62 percent or a total of 62,505,204 have been fully vaccinated.Over 61.9 individuals have received the first dose.Galvez said there were still around three million senior citizens and persons with comorbidities who are yet to get inoculated. (SunStar Philippines)