The government expects the economy, especially in the National Capital Region (NCR) and other highly urbanized areas, to generate at least P9.4 billion for every week that it is under Alert Level 1, Cabinet Secretary and acting presidential spokesman Karlo Nograles said yesterday.
Nograles, co-chairman of the Inter-agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), said the government also expects 170,000 less unemployed under Alert Level 1 within the next three months.
He said a more detailed assessment on the impact of the Alert Level 1 on the economy will be reported by Social Planning secretary and National Economic and Development Authority director general Karl Chua to President Duterte during the Talk to the People address scheduled last night.
The IATF placed Metro Manila and 38 other provinces and cities under Alert Level 1 from March 1 to 15 that paves the way for the “full operating/seating/venue capacity of industries, establishments, and public transportation” in the affected areas.
Nograles said while many areas are now shifting to the Alert Level 1, the lowest and less restrictive COVID-19 alert level in the country, the government will not hesitate to raise the alert level anew if COVID cases would again go up.
He reiterated the importance of sustaining the health protocols and being vaccinated to keep both COVID cases and the alert levels down.
