Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said Thursday local government units (LGUs) could declare lockdown in subdivisions depending on the number of COVID-19 cases in the areas.
Año, however, clarified that LGUs should ask for approval from the regional Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) before they could place subdivisions under lockdown.
“Hindi lang bara-barangay, kahit na isang subidivision o isang neighborhood. Pwede na yun na lang ilockdown depende kung naagapang maidentify o matrace ang mga tinatawag nating positive cases sa isang lugar,” Año said.
(Not just barangays, even subdivisions or an entire neighborhood. They can be placed under lockdown depending on whether they immediately traced or identified the positive cases in an area.)
“Ang tawag namin diyan operational framework using zoning, so sino-zone namin ang isang lugar o barangay na tinatawag nating focused and targeted,” he added.
(We call that operational framework using zoning. We are zoning an area or village which we call focused and targeted.)
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LGUs authorized to declare lockdown over subdivisions
The DILG official said barangays and sitios under lockdown would be called “critical zones” where the entrances and exits will be closed.
“Magiging mas mahigpit ang lockdown na ito. Ang gagawin diyan ay walang papapasukin diyan at walang papapalabasin. It is more than an ECQ. Ito ay gagawin lang kapag may outbreak at ang kanyang doubling rate ay less than seven days kaya kailangan talgang ilockdown siya,” he said.
(The lockdown will be stricter. Entry and exit will not be allowed. It is more than an ECQ. It will be imposed if there is an outbreak in the area and if the rate doubles in less than seven days, we need to impose a lockdown.)
“Ang tawag sa lugar na ilolockdown ay critical zone. Ito ay maaaring isang barangay o sitio at paligid niya ay containment zone,” he added.
(We call the areas under lockdown a critical zone. It could be a barangay or a sitio. Outside the critical zone is the containment zone.)
As of May 29, the Philippines recorded 13,221 confirmed cases, 842 deaths, and 2,932 recoveries.