Duque: NCR COVID cases may have peaked

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III stated on Monday that coronavirus cases in the National Capital Region (NCR) may have peaked as new daily cases are declining.

Duque noted that the percentage of new NCR cases contributing to the total case load is decreasing, with Sunday recording 5,433 new cases compared to Saturday's 6,646.

The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases will meet on Thursday to discuss potential de-escalation from Alert Level 3 to Alert Level 2 in NCR based on metrics review.

However, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire previously stated that it was too early to declare a shift to Alert Level 2 due to projected peak cases by the end of January or mid-February.