By Azer Parrocha | Philippine News Agency
MANILA – Malacañang on Wednesday (Dec. 29) enjoined local government units (LGUs) to impose granular or localized lockdowns in areas with an uptick in COVID-19 cases to prevent infections from again reaching an alarming level.
Acting Presidential Spokesperson, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, said President Rodrigo Duterte and the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) are concerned about the surge in infections, noting LGUs should step up in efforts to control the movement of people.
“Of course, we are getting worried, at dapat lang! Kaya ang panawagan (and we should! That is why our appeal is (sad) LGUs please enforce. Kapag may tumataas ang bilang ng kaso, granular lockdown. Hindi po nawala sa equation ang granular lockdown (If there is a rise in cases, granular lockdown. Granular lockdowns should not be erased from the equation),” he said in a Palace press briefing.
Nograles emphasized that it is the “responsibility” of LGUs to impose granular lockdowns, especially in areas where there is a “clustering of cases.”
He said granular lockdowns can be done on a household level, street level, purok (district) level, community level, and/or barangay level.
“Huwag nating kalimutan iyan, huwag nating hayaan na lumaki pa ito (Don’t forget that, let’s not allow this to get any worse),” he added.
He, however, also reminded the public that controlling the spread of COVID-19 is also everyone’s responsibility.
“Hindi po dapat nakaatang lamang sa balikat ng pamahalaan ninyo or ng LGU; nakaatang ito sa balikat nating lahat (The responsibility should not just lie on the government or LGU, it also lies on all of us). It is a shared responsibility of all. Self-policing among yourselves, in your family, in your community, sa inyong (in your) barangay, lahat po tayo, huwag nating sayangin ang lahat ng pinaghirapan po nating lahat (all of us, let’s not put our efforts to waste),” he said.
Nograles said the public should continue adhering to minimum public health standards.
“Mask, hugas, iwas plus bakuna – apat dapat…Hindi po pupuwedeng mawala ang isa diyan sa apat. (Wear your mask, wash your hands, keep distance, and get vaccinated—we should do all four. We can’t forget even one of those reminders),” he said.
Citing reports of crowding in public spaces, Nograles said people should not be too complacent.
“Hindi dahil naka-mask tayo at naghugas tayo at bakunado tayo, nakakalimutan natin iyong iwas (Not just because we’re wearing masks, washing hands, and vaccinated doesn’t mean we forget about keeping distance),” he added.
With the announcement of new alert levels for Jan. 1 to 15, 2022 set this week, Nograles said the President has the discretion to elevate the status if needed.
“Again, Jan. 1 to 15, mag-a-alert level po tayo; magpanibagong (we are going to have new alert levels; there will be another) announcement for that, but we can accelerate if we want,” he said.
The entire country is currently under Alert Level 2 where most activities are allowed at a 50% indoor venue capacity for fully vaccinated individuals and at 70% outdoor venue capacity.
As of Wednesday, the Philippines’ COVID-19 cases jumped to 889, bringing the total number of cases to over 2.8 million.
In a Viber message to reporters, Department of Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said COVID-19 cases are expected to increase due to holiday-related mobility.
She said the uptick in the number of infections is also caused by reduced compliance to the minimum public health standards apart from increased mobility.
“We are continuously monitoring the situation, though we cannot still be certain that the increase in cases is due to the Omicron Variant,” she said. “We are calling on the public and the LGUs to ensure safety protocols are implemented and every Filipino is vaccinated”. (PNA) – bny
