DILG still keen on imposing granular lockdowns amid threat on Delta variant

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) said Tuesday it is still inclined on imposing granular lockdowns instead of province- or city-wide lockdowns to strike a balance in the country’s economy amid the threat of the COVID-19 Delta variant.

“Ang ating panuntunan po as much as possible ay hindi po tayo mag lo-lockdown ng isang probinsya o ng isang siyudad. Ito pa rin ang ating ipapapatupad na polisiya at kasama na rin po dito ang pagbabalanse ng ating ekonomiya,” DILG Undersecretary Epimaco Densing III said in a televised briefing briefing.

(Our rule as much as possible is that we do not lock down a province or a city. This is still the policy we will implement, and it also includes balancing our economy as well.)

“Kaya nga as much as possible ayaw na natin mag lockdown ng isang malaking lokal na gobyerno kasi nga makakaapekto ‘to sa ekonomiya ng lokal na gobyerno na yan,” he added.

(That is why as much as possible we do not want to lockdown a large local government unit because it will affect the economy of that local government.)

Densing said granular lockdowns will serve as the preventive measure against the Delta variant, expressing hope it will not spread across the country just like what happened in other countries.

“Hopefully ay ‘di nga kumalat itong Delta variant, medyo nakakatakot nga po ng kaunti. Kung matatandaan po ninyo dahil sa mga balita ang Indonesia dahil sa Delta variant ay nagkakakaroon na ng at least 50,000 infections a day at nobenta persyento ng bagong COVID-19 infection sa United Kingdom halimbawa ay dala po ng Delta variant,” he said.

(Hopefully, this delta variant won’t spread, it’s a bit scary. If you can recall the news, Indonesia is already having at least 50,000 infections a day because of the delta variant and 90 percent of new COVID-19 infections in the United Kingdom, for example, are caused by the delta variant.)

The Department of Health has said there are already three deaths among the 35 Delta variant cases in the country.

With the presence of the variant in the country, President Rodrigo Duterte said in his taped weekly briefing stricter restrictions may be reimposed for the protection of the public.

As of July 19, Monday, the total COVID-19 cases in the country was at 1,513,396 with 47,561 active cases, 1,439,049 recoveries, and 26,786 deaths.  Sofia Vertucio, trainee

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