Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary Epimaco Densing III on Saturday (Sept. 11) said that only healthcare workers and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) leaving the country may go out during granular lockdowns.
“Walang makakalabas. Maski authorized persons outside residence (APOR) po, walang makakalabas sa granular lockdown area. Ang palalabasin lang po ay ‘yung ating healthcare workers,” Densing said during the Laging Handa public briefing.
“’Yung mga OFWs na lilipad na po sa ibang bansa, papayagang lumabas. At kung mayroon pong emergency medical cases, ‘yan po ay papayagan ding lumabas,” he added.
The national government will be helping local government units during lockdown.
“Dahil ito ang bagong istratehiya sa paglaban ng COVID-19, tutulong ang national goverment sa pangangailangan ng mga lokal na gobyerno ukol dito sa mga lockdown areas,” Densing said.
“Kagaya ng kalahating kailangan na ayuda o food packs ay hindi na po local government lang. Kalahati po nito manggagaling sa national government.”
Meanwhile, the alert level system, which will be implemented in Metro Manila starting Sept. 16, will be determined by the Department of Health every week.
“Hindi po limitado sa cases ang mga pamantayan ng DOH. But, based sa kanilang summary, una, iko-consider ang healthcare utilization rate. Kailangan mas mababa sa 70%. Ito ‘yung 70% pataas kasi ang high risk to critical level,” Densing said.
“Pagbabasehan din ‘yung pagbaba o pagtaas ng numero ng mga cases. So, ito ang mga pamantayan na gagamitin ng DOH bago sila mag-announce ng alert level,” he added. – PG – bny
