Belmonte denies report on QC lockdown

Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte. INQUIRER.net file photo / RYAN LEAGOGO

MANILA, Philippines — Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte on Wednesday denied a report saying that the city was planning to implement a lockdown should cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) further escalate.

“I strongly refute a…report that the Quezon City government is planning to implement a lockdown if the number of coronavirus cases in our city continues to rise,” Belmonte said in a statement posted on her Facebook page.

“This is beyond my scope of authority,” she added.

As of Wednesday, there are three confirmed cases of COVID-19 out of the 33 overall that was reported.

The idea of placing Metro Manila under a lockdown was first raised Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda, proposing that work in Metro Manila should be suspended for one week.

Meanwhile, class suspensions in the region should be postponed for one week, or until the end of the school year in April.

Belmonte further explained that during her interview with members of the media, she said that the local task force—assigned to monitor cases of COVID-19 patients—is still studying the possible effects of the lockdown should it be imposed in the city.

“I also informed the media that I ordered a team to look into the different types of lockdowns being done in other countries like China and Italy so we can learn what method may best apply in our context,” she stated.

The mayor added that she ordered for the study, despite President Rodrigo Duterte’s pronouncement that a lockdown on Metro Manila was “too early” to be imposed.

The COVID-19 was caused by a novel coronavirus that first broke out in Wuhan City in China.

The novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 was later named SARS-CoV-2 by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses.

The virus causes mild symptoms such as fever and cough for most people. It may also lead to severe illnesses such as pneumonia to others, especially to those older individuals and to people who have pre-existing health problems.

Coronaviruses are a family of viruses, which have a crown-like appearance. Such viruses are named for their spikes on their surfaces.

Edited by JPV