MANILA, Philippines — Muntinlupa placed two more communities under Extreme Localized Community Quarantine (ELCQ), citing an alarming escalation in COVID-19 cases.
According to the Muntinlupa Public Information Office (PIO) in a statement, City Mayor Jaime Fresnedi placed five streets in Katarungan Village, Barangay Poblacion under ELCQ starting 12:00 p.m. of August 19 until 12:00 p.m. of September 2.
The streets placed under ELCQ were the following: Angelo Street, Horrileno Street, Endencia Street, Paredes Street, and Barrera Street.
Muntinlupa City Health Office (CHO) chief Dr. Juancho Bagyi has said that, in the five streets of the city, COVID-19 cases are on the rise. Minimum public health protocols such as wearing of face mask and face shield outside of residence were also not observed.
Bunyi also noted that the said areas are comprised of high-risk groups such as senior citizens, children under 5 years old, and pregnant women.
He added that the COVID-19 attack rate in the community climbed to 208.58 per 10,000 population from the previous week’s record of 73.61 per 10,000 population. As of August 17, there are 17 active cases in the area.
Total lockdown protocols will be implemented in the community and residents will be prohibited to go out of their residences, except for emergencies.
Residents who are outside of the area starting the duration of the lockdown due to work will be permitted to return to their households but will be restricted from going out again.
Meanwhile, the second community is Building 17 in Filinvest Socialized Housing, Barangay Alabang that has also been placed under a 14-day ELCQ starting 6:00 p.m. of August 19 until September 2, 6:00 p.m. The Filinvest Socialized Housing is an 18-building residential complex.
As of August 18, there are seven active cases in the building which has a population of 115 residents, increasing the attack rate to 608.69 per 10,000 population from last week’s 437.78 per 10,000 population.
A clustering of cases was also observed in the said community due to the presence of high risk groups in the area such as senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and children under five years old.
“The community is congested and units are close together, that’s why transmission is really high. If we allow the mobility of people in the building, the risk of transmission will be greatly enhanced,” Bunyi said in a statement.
He also noted that social distancing and the strict use of face masks are not strictly followed.
The Muntinlupa CHO is set to reinforce mass testing and contact tracing in the areas, while the City Social Service Department and Barangay will provide food packs and other basic items for the affected residents during the effectivity of the ELCQ.
Furthermore, the local government said the PNP Muntinlupa is set to secure the two communities and shall augment roving personnel in nearby areas to ensure the public’s strict compliance to health protocols.
Other areas under ELCQ include Purok 3, Molera Compound in Barangay Sucat and Purok 7, Beatriz Compound, De Mesa L and B Street in Barangay Alabang which will last from August 6 until August 27; Block 8, Hills View and Mangga St., Lakeview Homes in Barangay Putatan from August 12 until August 26; and Chico St., Laguerta in Barangay Tunasan from August 10 until August 25.
As of August 18, Muntinlupa City has 17,312 confirmed cases with 14,872 recoveries, 2,028 active cases and 412 deaths.
Muntinlupa, along with other cities in Metro Manila are currently under enhanced community quarantine from August 6 to 20 due to the rising cases of the more transmissible Delta variant.
READ: Metro Manila under ECQ from August 6 to 20
As of August 19, health experts have recorded a total of 1,791,003 cases of COVID-19. This includes 111,720 active cases, 1,648,402 recoveries and 30,881 deaths.
READ: Another peak record: PH logs 14,895 new infections as total COVID-19 cases near 1.8 million
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