(Eagle News) – Metro Manila will be under Alert Level 4 starting Sept 16 which will last until Sept. 30.
Under Alert Level 4, granular lockdowns will be implemented in areas with clusters of COVID-19 cases and businesses or activities that would
The following will also not be allowed to leave their homes:
• persons below 18 years old,
• those who are over 65 years of age,
• pregnant women
• persons with comorbidities, immunodeficiencies, or other health risks.
Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Epimaco Densing said that the pilot granular lockdowns will be implemented in the whole National Capital Region (NCR) in the next two weeks.
He said all the mayors agreed that there should only be one alert level for the whole of Metro Manila from Sept. 16 to 30.
“Napagkaisahan po natin na sa National Capital Region, isang alert level lang po ang gagamitin. In fact, dapat ang alert level 3 ay ang Maynila at Valenzuela, pero sila po ay nag-agree na despite the fact na mas mababa ang kanilang alert level, sa buong National Capital Region isang alert level ang patutuparin natin,” Densing said.
“So, hindi po mangyayari iyong ganiyang sitwasyon na lilipat po ng isang siyudad na mas mababa iyong alert level dahil iisang alert level lang po ang ipatutupad natin sa buong National Capital Region sa susunod na 2 linggo ng pilot implementation nitong alert level,” he said.
But Densing said that they would try to lower the alert level in Metro Manila to alert level 3 after a week.
“Hopefully, dahil testing po ito, susubukan natin na sa loob ng isang linggo mapabababa natin ito ng alert level 3 para maranasan natin iyong mga konting pagluwag habang pinaigting pa rin iyong mga granular lockdown hindi lang sa NCR kung hindi sa buong bansa,” he said in an earlier press briefing on Sept. 11.
Densing said that barangays that will be placed under lockdown would be given 24 hours so that the entry and exit routes would be secured. During the granular lockdowns, there will be no one who will be allowed to enter or leave the said premises.
“Kaya po mayroon tayong 24 hours na palugit bago i-lockdown para mai-ayos po ang ruta ng pagdadanaan ng mga tao o sasakyan, iyon po iyong una at pangalawa po pagdating dito dahil synthetic ito, ito iyong bagong polisiya sa paglaban ng Covid-19 para masigurado natin na walang gagalaw na tao doon sa granular areas ay tutulong po ang national government sa pangangailangan ng mga lokal na gobyerno ukol dito sa mga lockdown areas no,” he said in a previous press briefing.
Half of the “ayuda” or food packs would be coming from the local government, and half would be coming from the national government.
Densing said that the budget for granular lockdowns would be more manageable, compared to city-wide or Metro-wide lockdowns.
Under the Alert Level 4, some businesses will be allowed to operate. But those businesses or activities which involved the so-called three Cs: closed areas, crowded areas, and those that require close contact in their businesses, cannot operate.
These include indoor dining, indoor tourist attractions, personal care, and religious gatherings.
“Ano po ba itong mga ehemplo or example nitong mga closed, crowded and closed contacts? Kasama ho dito iyong religious gathering, social gathering or mga parties, iyong ating meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibits, iyong mga in-door tourist attractions, iyong ating personal care at dine-in. At babanggitin ko, ito po iyong mga bagay na talagang nakalista na po sa bagong Omnibus Guidelines na ipalalabas at ang ina-identify dito ay mga aktibidades.” Densing explained in an earlier press briefing.
Under Alert Level 4, establishments that fall under these three Cs cannot operate. Under Alert level 3, such establishments can operate under a 30 percent capacity. Under Alert level 2, the allowable operation of these establishments are up to 50 percent; and under alert level 1, such establishments are allowed to operate with full capacity.
The highest alert level is Alert Level 5 which is equivalent to a hard lockdown. This is equivalent to Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ).
(Eagle News Service)
