171 Metro Manila areas under granular lockdown

MANILA, Philippines — Over 100 areas in Metro Manila are under granular lockdown after the government started imposing the new COVID-19 alert level system in the region, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said yesterday.

In the meantime, the Department of Health (DOH) reported more than 19,000 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday, following three straight days breaching the 20,000-level.

Citing figures from the Philippine National Police (PNP), Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said in a radio interview that 171 “small areas” within several barangays across Metro Manila are under granular lockdown.

PNP spokesman Brig. Gen. Ronaldo Olay said over 244 police personnel have been sent to 93 barangays under lockdown.

The granular system enables local government units to declare lockdowns in limited public spaces and buildings like a house or a specific number thereof, housing compound or a street with high cases of COVID-19.

Metro Manila was placed under Alert Level 4 on Thursday after days of delay, because of an increasing COVID-19 caseload and high hospital utilization rates.

Under Alert Level four, restrictions have been put in place on personal care services, religious gatherings and attending wakes and burials. The curfew has been shortened from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. and outdoor dining would be permissible at a maximum of 30 percent capacity, while indoor dining would be allowed at 10 percent.

The National Task Force against COVID-19 said over the weekend that the enforcement of Alert Level 4 in the region could be extended for two more weeks after September if it would result in lower COVID-19 infections.

“We received good feedback and the implementation of the alert level system in Metro Manila has been orderly. There have been issues but these were dealt with promptly,” Año said in an interview aired over dzBB.

Over 12,000 health protocol violators were flagged during the first day of the new COVID-19 alert level system in Metro Manila, Olay said, noting how violators were caught violating mask mandates, face shield protocols and mass gatherings.

About 50 percent of the violators were let off with warnings, 44 percent were fined and six percent brought to police stations.

Año said more police would be deployed at night to enforce the curfew.

Meanwhile, based on its case bulletin, the DOH said 19,271 new COVID-19 cases were documented yesterday, after recording 21,261 cases on Sept. 16; 20,366 cases on Sept. 17 and 23,134 on Sept. 18.

The new cases brought to 2,366,749 the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country. The bulletin showed 205 new deaths, raising the death toll to 36,788.

The DOH added, on the other hand, that there were 25,037 COVID-19 patients who recovered. This brings the number of survivors to 2,151,765.

There were 178,196 active cases, and they account for 7.5 percent of the overall tally.

The bulletin further showed that in Metro Manila, 77 percent of 1,500 ICU beds for COVID-19 patients are already occupied, while 63 percent of 4,500 isolation beds are being utilized.

Seventy three percent of 4,400 ward beds were occupied, while 61 percent of 1,200 ventilators were in use. – Sheila Crisostomo