171 areas in NCR under granular lockdown —Año

Published September 19, 2021 10:59am

Residents wait for their orders of food and other items at the corner of H. Santos Street in Barangay Tejeros, Makati City on Saturday, September 18, 2021. The area was among those placed under two-week granular lockdown due to the increasing number of COVID-19 cases. The National Capital Region is on Alert Level 4 until Sept. 30. DANNY PATA

A total of 171 small areas are under granular lockdown in the National Capital Region (NCR), Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said on Sunday.

"Sa tala ng PNP (Philippine National Police), 171 small areas sa Metro Manila ang nasa granular lockdown," Año said in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB.

Sec. Año: Sa tala ng PNP, 171 small areas sa Metro Manila ang nasa granular lockdown.
— DZBB Super Radyo (@dzbb) September 19, 2021

(Based on data from PNP, 171 small areas in Metro Manila are under granular lockdown.)

PNP spokesperson Police Brigadier General Ronaldo Olay later said in a separate interview on Super Radyo dzBB that they are monitoring 93 barangays under lockdown.

A total of 244 cops and 304 force multipliers are monitoring the said areas, he added.

PBGen. Olay: May mga barangay tayong mino-monitor. 93 ang areas na naka-lockdown. 244 ng ating mga tauhan ang naka-deploy at 304 na force multipliers.
— DZBB Super Radyo (@dzbb) September 19, 2021

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

Olay said it is the LGU which initiates the granular lockdown. The PNP's role is to ensure security and adherence to minimum health standards, he said.

Department of the Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya on Friday emphasized that areas to be placed under granular lockdown were critical nodes, where there was clustering of cases and active transmission of COVID-19.

The NCR was placed under Alert Level 4 starting September 16. 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.

The enforcement of the COVID-19 Alert Level 4 in the NCR however could be extended for two more weeks after September if it would result in lower COVID-19 infections, National Task Force against COVID-19 spokesperson Restituto Padilla said Saturday. —KG, GMA News

Tags: Granular lockdown, Eduardo Ano, DILG, Ronaldo Olay, PNP