Just now – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte placed the country’s capital on a citywide lockdown starting March 15 amid the COVID-19 scare.
Citywide lockdown in Metro Manila
The capital city of the Philippines, Metro Manila, has been placed on a temporary 30-day citywide lockdown period, due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The proclamation came after a sudden increase in COVID-19 positive cases in the Philippines. The case of a local transmission also dragged more precautionary measures to the virus outbreak.
After confiding with the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease, the president addressed the public regarding the effectivity of the citywide quarantine at the country’s capital.
Tantamount to a lockdown, but termed as a “community quarantine”, this shall affect all forms of domestic travel: air, land, and sea to and from Metro Manila for the duration of 30-days starting March 15, 2020. Duterte doesn’t want the people to panic on the term citywide lockdown, and it is a pre-emptive measure to contain the spread of the diseases.
According to President Duterte, he needs the cooperation of the people to fight off the spread of the virus:
This has become a serious issue. Let us not belittle the problem we have right now. But, we should not burden ourselved with too much worries, the government is doing its best to manage the situation.
The government suggests precautionary measures
Going out in public places – During the lockdown, all public gatherings that involve huge contingents are prohibited. Mass transportations are excluded and still operational
No classes on all levels – Classes in the capital are set to resume on April 12. In addition, the Department of Interior and Local Government is tasked to conduct measures that will limit students from roaming outside in public places.
Local communities – The local government is tasked to monitor communities in their areas of responsibility. Additional restrictions must be imposed in case of positive cases on a specific community:
- Barangay-wide quarantine for at least two positive cases in the same barangay
- Citywide quarantine for at least two positive cases from two different barangays
- Province-wide quarantine for at least two positive cases from different municipalities or city within the province
Work suspension – Government agencies are part of the 30-day suspension. But, Healthcare services are exempted from the suspension. Private companies are encouraged to arrange flexible work hours for their employees, and possibly a work from home set-up to limit employees from possible exposure to the virus
Currently, the death toll rate from the COVID-19 virus in the Philippines is at five(5) persons.
Feature image by UNTV
