57 NCR areas under granular lockdown –DILG

Fifty-seven areas were placed under granular lockdowns in the National Capital Region a day after the start of its pilot implementation, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said Friday.

"Based on the report given to us by the NCRPO, we have 57 areas in the National Capital Region currently under granular lockdowns," DILG Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said at the Laging Handa public briefing.

"Almost all LGUs here in Metro Manila have granular lockdowns."

Malaya however did not list the locked down NCR areas.

The government defines granular lockdown as "micro-level quarantine for areas classified as 'critical zones' by the local government unit."

"Doon sa sinasabing issue tungkol sa warning, nasa kamay na po 'yan ng mga local government units kung anong klaseng warning ang kanilang gagawin," Malaya said.

(Regarding the issue of warnings, it is up to the local government units on what kind of warning they would give their residents.)

"We will leave it now to the discretion of the local government units kung sila ba ay biglang magla-lockdown lamang o magbibigay sila ng advanced warning (if they will immediately implement lockdowns or they will give advanced warning)," Malaya added.

Metro Manila is currently under Alert Level 4. Based on the government's new guidelines, areas under Alert Level 4 -- the second highest alert level in the new scheme -- are those with COVID-19 case counts that are high or increasing while total beds and ICU beds are at high utilization rate.

Malaya emphasized that areas to be placed under granular lockdown were critical nodes, where there was clustering of cases and active transmission of COVID-19.

Netizens had earlier appealed for a notice from the local government before imposing the granular lockdown on a particular area to allow the affected residents to prepare.

Malaya in a separate interview said that the enforcement of Alert Level 4 in Metro Manila was so far "good." — DVM/KBK, GMA News