94 areas in NCR now under granular lockdown

FILE PHOTO: An area on granular lockdown as such a scheme will be pilot tested in Metro Manila to stop the spread of the more contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus. INQUIRER/NINO JESUS ORBETA

MANILA, Philippines — The number of areas under granular lockdown in Metro Manila has increased to 94 from the 88 recorded on Oct. 23, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said Wednesday.

Of the 94 areas, 44 are in Manila, 23 are in Marikina City, 17 are in Quezon City, nine are in Pasay City and only one is in Navotas City.

DILG Undersecretary and spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said the rest of the local government units (LGUs) in the National Capital Region do not have areas under granular lockdown.

Malaya said the number is generally lower as there were 896 areas under lockdown when the government pilot tested the new COVID-19 alert level system in Metro Manila.

He attributed this to the decreasing number of COVID-19 cases in the country.

“Low risk na ang buong bansa [sa COVID-19] at ang Metro Manila naman ay nasa medium risk. May epekto ito sa granular lockdown,” he said in a Laging Handa publuc briefing.

(The country is considered low risk for COVID-19 while Metro Manila is at medium risk so this has an effect on the number of granular lockdowns.)

Malaya said the Department of Social Welfare and Development has so far released a total of 32,375 family food packs since Sept. 25 to give to families affected by the lockdowns.

This has been distributed to the various LGUs, he added.

The government’s new alert level system, which put more focus on localized lockdowns over community-wide quarantine restrictions, is being pilot tested in Metro Manila starting Sept. 16.

Metro Manila was initially placed under Alert Level 4, which was the second strictest classification but was then downgraded to the more relaxed Alert Level 3 starting Oct. 16.

/MUF