MANILA, Philippines — Metro Manila mayors have “unanimously” vote to downgrade to Alert Level 1 starting March 1, Parañaque City Mayor and Metro Manila Council (MMC) Chairman Edwin Olivarez revealed on Wednesday.

This was the result of the MMC meeting held on Tuesday night, according to Olivarez.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government, however, has misgivings on the downgrading the alert level in Metro Manila due to risks of another COVID-19 surge from campaign activities in the run-up to the May elections.

Under the guidelines earlier issued by the government’s pandemic task force, all establishments will be allowed to operate at full capacity, with exemption of areas under granular lockdown under Alert Level 1.

Workers can now also report on-site, and activities can be conducted at full-seating capacities even for indoor venues, provided minimum health standards are followed.

The Metro Manila mayors’ recommendation came after the Department of Health (DOH) reported 197 new cases of COVID-19 in the metropolis on Tuesday.

Independent pandemic monitor OCTA Research also reported on Tuesday that the current positivity rate of Metro Manila is only at 4.9 percent, well within the World Health Organization’s ideal positivity rate of five percent.

Metro Manila remains at low risk status for COVID-19 transmission, OCTA added.

Also on Tuesday, the DOH recorded the lowest COVID-19 cases for this year at 1,019 nationwide.

The Philippines has reported a total of 3,654,284 cases including 56,668 active cases, 3,541,840 recoveries and 55,776 deaths.