Single COVID-19 case enough to lock down house, condo floor —Metro Manila Council

The presence of one COVID-19 case will be enough to impose a lockdown on a house or a condominium floor, Parañaque Mayor and Metro Manila Council head Edwin Olivarez said on Wednesday.

At the Laging Handa briefing, Olivarez pointed out that only a specific area will be placed under the “micro-granular” restrictive measure.

“Basta kung bahay po, isang floor sa building, magkaroon lang po ng isang case, dapat na pong i-lockdown po yan,”he said.

[As long as it is a house or a building floor, once it has a single case, we should already impose a lockdown there.]

To impose a lockdown on an entire street, Olivarez said, there should be at least two COVID-19 cases.

Isolation and testing will be conducted in the concerned area, he added.

The MMC is composed of the 17 mayors in the National Capital Region (NCR).

On Tuesday, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said NCR will be under Alert Level 4 starting Thursday, the start of the implementation of granular lockdowns, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

READ: How the new COVID-19 alert levels and granular lockdowns work

Areas under Alert Level 4—the second highest alert level in the new scheme—are those with infections that are high or increasing while total beds and ICU beds are at high utilization rate.

• Those who are not allowed outside their residences under Alert Level 4 are:
• persons below 18 years old
• those who are over 65 years of age
• those with immunodeficiencies, comorbidities, or other health risks
• pregnant women

These individuals will only be allowed to go out to access or obtain essential goods and services, or for work in permitted industries and offices.

Also under Alert Level 4, intrazonal and interzonal travel for persons not otherwise required to remain at their residences may be allowed subject to the reasonable regulations of the LGU of destination. — BM, GMA News