Barangays 351, 725, 699 and two hotel facilities in the City of Manila will be placed under localized lockdown starting Thursday.
Citing the statement of the Department of Health (DOH), Manila Mayor Isko Moreno said the possibility of a new variant spreading in the city is low. But community behavior and complacency of residents are being considered as causes of the rise in the number of cases.
At least 100 police personnel will be deployed in each barangay to ensure compliance with health and safety protocols. Violators will be apprehended and placed in a quarantine facility.
“We will segregate them… Ito yung mga quarantine facility na walang laman at magkakalaman ito kapag may violators ng lockdown (These quarantine facilities are empty and will be filled if there are violators of the lockdown),” Mayor Moreno warned.
The Manila mayor revealed that more areas may be placed under lockdown in the coming days due to the continuous increase of COVID-19 cases.
The local government assured mass swabbing will push through during the lockdown and specimens will be brought to the Philippine Genome Center (PGC) to determine whether or not there are variants spreading in the city. – Report from Louisa Erispe
