The National Capital Region (NCR) is "genuinely ripe for de-escalation" to Alert Level 1, a Department of Health (DOH) official said on Thursday.

"In Metro Manila, the A2 target population is 1,222,154. The number ng fully vaccinated is at 1.025 million, that is for the NCR only with 83.90 percent coverage. So overall they have exceeded the 80 percent target population," Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said during the ''Laging Handa'' virtual public briefing.

"In fact the NCR has reached 100 percent of its target population, fully vaccinated it is 101.66 percent to be exact. That is their status which means they are truly and genuinely ripe for de-escalation," he added.

This was emphasized by Duque when asked about the qualification of NCR to the additional requirements for de-escalation to Alert Level 1.

He added that based on the recent data Metro Manila has reached the required level for two-week growth rate, average daily attack rate and health care utilization rate for the declaration of Alert Level 1.

"The NCR passed their metrics. They are ripe in other words. So their two-week growth rate is already negative and then their average daily attack rate is at moderate risk," he said.

''When you combine them it is equivalent to a low risk classification; while their health care utilization rate is below 30 percent so it is also low, low risk. So in these two aspects they are already ripe," he added.

Duque said the final decision will have to be made by all members of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) which meets this afternoon.

"I think later the IATF will just wait for the latest data about this, to clearly decide if we can already declare Alert Level 1," he said.

Duque said the IATF will also discuss alert levels in other areas in the country if there are other places also ripe for the de-escalation.

"In fact, we are not just going to discuss the NCR. We will also talk about other areas, provinces or highly urbanized cities and also independent component cities, if they already comply with our metrics, to be placed under Alert Level 1," he said. Robina Asido/DMS