Part of Navotas barangay under lockdown for 2 weeks

MANILA, Philippines — A residential area in Barangay NBBS Dagat-Dagatan, Navotas was placed under strict lockdown for two weeks after four of its residents contracted the coronavirus disease, city mayor said Tuesday.

“A lockdown shall be imposed at Block 31, Lot 36 NBBS Dagat-Dagatan, City of Navotas effective from 5:01 a.m. of Dec. 5, 2020 [to] 11:59 p.m. of Dec. 19, 2020 unless otherwise extended,” read Navotas Mayor Toby Tiangco’s executive order posted on his Twitter.

Tiangco said the lockdown was necessary to restrict movement and slow down the transmission of the virus to other residents.

Napilitan po tayong magpatupad ng lockdown sa Block 31, Lot 36 sa Brgy. NBBS Dagat-dagatan mula 5 December, 5:01am, hanggang 19 December, 11:59pm alinsunod sa Executive Order No. TMT-056, series of 2020. pic.twitter.com/3ppJNhuF9O

— Toby Tiangco (@TobyTiangco) December 7, 2020

“Sa ating pagsagawa ng contact tracing at house-to-house survey, napag-alaman natin na may apat na nagpositibo sa COVID-19 sa nasabing lugar at 16 na persons under investigation. Dahil dito, kailangan ng lockdown para maiwasan natin ang pagkalat pa ng virus,” the mayor said.

(After conducting contact tracing and house-to-house survey, we found that four were positive for COVID-19 in the said area while 16 are under investigation for the disease. With this, a lockdown is needed to prevent community transmission.)

Tiangco said all residents of Block 31 will undergo swab testing while those living nearby the area will undergo targeted testing.

“Magsasagawa rin ng targeted testing sa mga nakatira malapit sa compound,” said Tiangco.

(We will conduct targeted testing to residents near the compound.)

The local chief executive also noted those who will test positive for the virus will receive relief packs for their families.

“Ang magpositibo ay dadalhin sa Community Isolation Facility. Bibigyan ng relief packs ang kanilang pamilyang maiiwan. (Infected persons will be taken to community isolation facility. We will give food packs to their families.),” Tiangco said.

Meanwhile, only essential workers exempted by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) are allowed to go to their workplaces provided that they tested negative in the swab test and that they have secured company ID or certificate of employment.

The elderly and children below 18 years old can only go out for medical emergencies, Tiangco also said.