By Clarist Zablan
(September 10, 2021) – The Philippines has approved the preliminary guidelines for a granular lockdown to be pilot tested in Metro Manila to cut the chain of transmission of the deadly coronavirus, a government spokesman said on Friday, only a day after daily infection cases ballooned to nearly 23,000.
Harry Roque said the government planned to carry out a new experimental quarantine status on September 16, saying only two quarantine classifications – an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) and a general community quarantine (GCQ) – will be imposed.
But the two classifications will have ladderized restriction levels, Roque added.
“Dalawa na lang ang quarantine classification. Ito ang ECQ at GCQ pero ang pwede at hindi pwede ay hindi na gaya ng dati. Depende na ito sa alert level na nakapataw sa kada syudad o munisipyo,” Roque said in a press briefing.
The Inter-Agency Task Force for the management of emerging infectious diseases (IATF) will still decide if an ECQ will be necessary, but restrictions under a GCQ will depend on the various alert levels placed on different cities and municipalities in the capital.
For areas in localized lockdowns, residents will not be allowed to leave homes except for those working in health facilities, migrant workers bound for international travel and returning after undergoing quarantine, and people in medical emergencies.
For other areas, the government will implement targeted restrictions based on the level of risks in activities – such as whether it is closed, crowded or promotes close contact – instead of by sectors or industry.
Households under granular lockdown restrictions will receive assistance from local government units and the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
“Makikita na itong bagong policy shift ay ninanais na magpatuloy ang industriya pero hindi ibig sabihin na palibhasa bukas ang industriya ay pwede na dine in. Kapag level 4 hindi, level 3, may porsyento,” Roque said.
The government was supposed to implement the granular lockdown last week, easing the region-wide quarantine status to a GCQ, but the IATF postponed it as the guidelines are not finalized.
There were also concerns from the health sector on the effectiveness of the approach, with some saying that easing the lockdowns may further worsen the already surging cases in the country.
On Thursday, the Philippines reported its highest-ever daily COVID-19 cases at 22,820 infections. The positivity rate also reached an all-time high of 29.4%, indicating that not enough tests are being conducted in the country.
The number of cases declined 17,964 on Friday but the cumulative number is close to 2.2 million and more than 34,000 have died.
(MM | With reports from Maricel Halili, News 5)
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