Palace: Gov’t favors granular lockdowns over quarantine restrictions

MANILA, Philippines — The COVID-19 task force for the management of the pandemic is now leaning towards the use of granular lockdowns instead of placing areas under community quarantine classifications, Malacañang said Thursday.

“We are moving towards that direction na dahil ang LGUs (local government units) naman talaga ang nakakaalam kung nasaan yung mga areas, papunta tayo roon,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said when asked if the government will do away with quarantine classifications and impose granular lockdowns instead.

(We are moving towards that direction because it’s the LGUs that know which areas have high COVID-19 cases, we’re on our way there.)

“Pero wala pa pong detalye. It’s a principle that has been approved as a principle. But the details, hindi pa po na-approve,” he noted.

(But there are no details yet. It’s a principle that has been approved as a principle. But the details have not been approved.)

Under granular lockdowns, the local government units only restrict the mobility of residents in a specific building, street, zone, village, and the like where there are high cases of COVID-19.

Quarantine classifications, on the other hand, refer to the levels of restrictions the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases impose in a certain region or province.

From strictest to the most relaxed, the quarantine classifications are enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), modified (ECQ), general community quarantine (GCQ), and modified GCQ.

/MUF