Palace: Granular lockdowns to be ‘literally a complete lockdown’

MANILA, Philippines — The new strategy of imposing granular lockdowns will “literally” be a “complete lockdown” in small areas in a bid to prevent the spread of infection without disrupting business operations, Malacañang said Monday.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said persons in areas under granular lockdown will not be allowed to constantly go in and out of their homes, hence the government will provide food during the duration of the restriction imposed.

“It will be literally a complete lockdown kapag ikaw ay subject sa granular lockdown. At pati pagkain ay ibibigay na po ng gobyerno doon sa mga lugar na covered by granular lockdowns,” Roque said in a press briefing.

(It will be literally a complete lockdown when an area is subjected to a granular lockdown. Even the food will be provided by the government to those covered by granular lockdowns.)

“One innovation is kung ikaw ay APOR [authorized persons outside of residence], you can leave but you can no longer go back until matapos yung granular lockdown. Wala talagang labas masok. For APORs, you can leave once. Yan po yung naalala ko sa isang innovation,” he explained.

(One innovation is that if you’re an APOR, you can leave but no longer go back until the duration of the granular lockdown ends. No one can go in and out. For APORs, you can leave once. That’s what I remember from the innovations.)

Roque said this is a new strategy that will hopefully address the increase in new COVID-19 cases, admitting that the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) seems to be no longer working in the country’s COVID-19 situation.

“Ngayon po, the truth of the matter is apparently, the ECQ as we practiced it may not be enough. So we’re trying to come up with a new strategy. Kaya nga po itong localized lockdown na ito, granular, is not the same granular lockdown that we knew,” he said.

(The truth of the matter is apparently, the ECQ as we practiced it may not be enough. So we’re trying to come up with a new strategy. That’s why the localized or granular lockdown is not the same granular lockdown that we knew.)

Metro Manila, which has been placed under the more lenient general community quarantine (GCQ), will be the pilot area for the shift to granular lockdowns.

Roque said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases is expected to iron out and release the full guidelines this Monday or Tuesday.

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