NCR areas under granular lockdown down to 151 —PNP

The number of areas under granular lockdown in the National Capital Region continued to go down from 186 to 151 as of Thursday, based on the data from the Philippine National Police (PNP) released Friday.

In an update, the PNP said these areas under granular lockdown were reported in 108 barangays in Metro Manila.

These areas included 108 houses, 13 residential buildings, 13 streets, 13 subdivisions or villages, three residential building floors, and a settlement.

The local government units (LGUs) decide on imposing and lifting granular lockdowns, the PNP Public Information Office said.

To ensure security and adherence to minimum health standards, at least 546 PNP personnel and 619 force multipliers have been deployed to the concerned areas.

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

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

Granular lockdowns are micro-level quarantine for areas classified as "critical zones" by the LGUS. According to officials, granular lockdowns could be implemented on a house, compound, street, or building with high cases of infections.

The Inter-Agency Task Force decided to extend the pilot implementation of the Alert Levels System, which includes granular lockdowns, in the NCR until October 15. —Joviland Rita/KBK, GMA News