FILE PHOTO: An area on granular lockdown in Metro Manila in an effort to stop the spread of the more contagious variants of the new coronavirus. INQUIRER/NINO JESUS ORBETA
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) said Tuesday that 16 areas in the National Capital Region or Metro Manila are now under granular lockdown due to increasing cases of COVID-19.
Based on the data released by the PNP, 14 of those areas were reported by the Northern Police District while one each was reported by Manila Police District and Southern Police District.
A total of 57 people are being covered by this granular lockdown, the PNP added.
Meanwhile, the Police Regional Office (PRO) of Mimaropa reported that six areas in its jurisdiction are under granular lockdown while PRO-Cordillera said it has one area under granular lockdown, according to PNP.
Nationwide, the PNP said, 23 areas are now under granular lockdown due to the new coronavirus infection.
The PNP, however, did not enumerate the 23 areas in the country that are placed on granular lockdown.
The country is currently facing notable increases in new COVID-19 cases as alert levels for coronavirus curbs relaxed through the holidays. The country has also reported detecting a few cases of the SARS-CoV-2’s Omicron variant, including local transmissions.
READ: PH detects 3 local, 7 imported Omicron COVID-19 variant cases
READ: DOH cites ‘high possibility’ of Omicron variant’s local transmission
SARS-CoV-2 is the latest strain of coronavirus that causes serious respiratory illness COVID-19.
The recorded spike prompted the placement of Metro Manila, Rizal, Bulacan, and Cavite under COVID-19 Alert Level 3.
On Tuesday, the Department of Health reported the COVID-19 infection of 5,434 more people in the country – the highest since October 24 – bringing total active cases to 29,809, which is three times higher than the number of active infections the country had recorded just a week before.
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