INTERIOR Secretary Eduardo Año on Thursday said hard lockdowns will be imposed on “critical” neighborhoods as a crucial government strategy to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Año said local government units (LGUs) will be allowed to close down a barangay, a sitio, or even a subdivision with fast doubling time rates of COVID-19 cases.
“Magiging mas mahigpit itong lockdown na ito. Ang gagawin talaga natin ay walang papasukin diyan at walang palalabasin (The lockdown will be stricter. What we will do is no one will be allowed to enter or leave these areas),” said Año.
Año, a member of the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging and Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), assured the measure will be applied only to “critical” zones.
“Talagang it’s more than an ECQ at ito naman ay gagawin lang kung talagang nagkaroon ng outbreak at tinatawag natin ang kanyang doubling rate ay less than seven days (It’s going to be more than an ECQ and this will be done only if there is an outbreak and the doubling rate is less than seven days),” he said.
Año said LGUs need to get prior approval of the regional IATF-EID before the city or municipal lockdowns takes effect,
The DILG chief said the lockdown of critical zones will be done through the zoning operational concept. “Ito ay maaring isang barangay, isang sitio at ‘yung paligid naman niya ay containment zone na mahigpit din ng kaunti, parang GCQ level (This can be a barangay, a sitio, and their surrounding areas will be a containment zone),” he said.
In a containment zone, measures similar to a general community quarantine (GCQ) will be imposed. Nearby areas outside the containment zone will be the buffer zone, where business operations will continue to be allowed.
“We will make sure that the virus will not spread to the buffer zone,” Año said.
