IATF for COVID-19 mulls new quarantine guidelines for LGUs

MANILA, Philippines — With just nine days left before the lapse of the extended Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine, the Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases is crafting new guidelines for the implementation of quarantine measures by local government units (LGUs).

IATF spokesperson and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said Tuesday the guidelines will include what would be the “triggers” for LGUs to raise their respective quarantine levels.

“Sa pag-enforce ng mga quarantine, isa mga pinaguusapan namin sa IATF, gagawa kami ng panibagong guidelines. Subject of course to the approval ni Pangulong Duterte,” Nograles said in an online conference.

(In enforcing quarantine, among the things we talked about in the IATF is crafting new guidelines subject to the approval of President Duterte.)

“Kasama sa mga guidelines na yan kung ano ano yung magiging triggers para sa iba’t ibang LGUs para iakyat yung quarantine level nila. Something to that effect,” he added.

(Included in the guidelines are what would be the triggers for LGUs to raise their quarantine level. Something to that effect.)

The new guidelines may also cover quarantine measures down to the barangay level, Nograles said.

“Pagdating doon sa per barangay, isa rin yun sa maaari namin bigyan ng parameters o tinatawag na triggers para i-enhance yung community quarantine. Posible doon sa mga localities na yan, down to the barangay level,” he said.

(When it comes to the barangay, that’s also among those which we will give parameters or triggers for them to enhance their community quarantine. It’s possible that their localities, down to the barangay level will be included.)

Earlier, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno said the entire district of Sampaloc will be placed under a “lockdown.” The city officials, however, are still planning on how to enforce the strict quarantine measure.

Nograles advised Manila City to coordinate with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the National Task Force (NTF) against COVID-19 on how to implement the quarantine measure.

As of Monday, Manila City has 458 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The number is out of 6,459 confirmed cases of the respiratory disease nationwide.

EDV