Only 3 Cordillera areas under granular lockdown

MANILA, Philippines — Only three areas, all of them in the Cordillera Administrative Region, were under granular lockdown as of April 9, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has reported.

“The three (areas) are situated in three towns and three barangays and only three households and six individuals were affected,” Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said during President Duterte’s pre-recorded public address aired last Monday.

“If the numbers continue to go down, that means our countrymen will be safe. But we still need to get vaccinated, especially in regions with low vaccination rates,” Año added.

The DILG chief noted that it was the first time that no area in Metro Manila is under localized lockdown.

The National Capital Region remains the top contributor of new COVID cases, accounting for 703 of the 1,903 new infections recorded from April 5 to 11.

Metro Manila also has the highest vaccination rate at 105.51 percent, which is more than its target population.

The Cordilleras has a vaccination rate of 76.66 percent or about 1.14 million of its 1.48 million target population.

Acting presidential spokesman Martin Andanar said the national pandemic task force was scheduled to meet yesterday to discuss the updated quarantine classifications from April 16 to 30.

Nearly 200 areas, including Metro Manila, were placed under the most lenient Alert Level 1 from April 1 to 15.