THE Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) yesterday placed 28 more areas under Alert Level 3 from January 14 to 31 amid the continued spike in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the country.
Cabinet Secretary and acting presidential spokesman Karlo Nograles said starting Friday, the provinces of Benguet, Kalinga, Abra La Union, Ilocos Norte, Pangasinan, Nueva Vizcaya, Isabela, Quirino, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Quezon, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro and Camarines Sur in Luzon will be under Alert Level 3.
In the Visayas and Mindanao, the provinces of Aklan, Capiz, Antique and Agusan del Sur; and the cities of Bacolod, Cebu, Mandaue, Tacloban, Cagayan de Oro, Butuan and Cotabato have been placed under heightened alert level.
“All other provinces and cities not mentioned shall remain under their current alert level classification,” Nograles said.
It was not immediately clear the Alert Level 3 in the National Capital Region, the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, Cagayan Bataan, Pampanga and Zambales; and the cities if Baguio, Dagupan, Santiago, Angeles, Olongapo, Lucena, Naga, Iloilo, and Lapulapu — which is in effect until January 15 — will be extended until the end of the month.
Under Alert Level 3, a 30-percent indoor venue capacity and 50-percent outdoor venue capacity is allowed for some activities, such as dine-in and personal care services provided that the employees and patrons are fully vaccinated.
Not allowed under Alert Level 3 are face-to-face or in-person classes for basic education, contact sports, unless under a bubble-type setup; funfairs, carnivals and amusement parks; venues with live voice or wind instrument performers; and casinos.
Gatherings in residences with individuals not belonging to the same household are also prohibited.
Persons aged below 18 and above 59 years old are prohibited from going out of their homes unless for essential errands, such as to buy food and medicines, and to avail of essential services such as medical checkups or go to work in businesses and industries that are allowed to operate.
The PNP yesterday reported that 170 areas throughout the country are under granular lockdown as of Tuesday. Of the figure, 94 are in Metro Manila, 57 in Cagayan Valley region, 13 in Ilocos region, five in Mimaropa and one in Cordillera Administrative Region.
The police said that the NCR and Cagayan Valley only had 76 and 33 areas, respectively, that were under granular lockdown as of last Monday.
Police said the areas under granular lockdowns are in 104 barangays within 10 cities and towns. They are manned by 217 policemen and 274 force multipliers.
Affected by the lockdowns are 266 households, composed of 702 individuals.
During the Laging Handa press briefing yesterday, Interior Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya gave a different count. He said only 107 areas in the entire country are locked down, affecting 679 individuals.
Malaya said 97 of these areas are in NCR, where 102 families, composed of 463 individuals, are affected. — With Victor Reyes
