Localized lockdown may also focus on sitios, subdivisions -Año

Future lockdowns that will be implemented to curb the spread of COVID-19 may also be focused on neighborhood, sitios, and even subdivisions, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año on Thursday.

Interviewed on Unang Hirit, Año said localized lockdowns are not only limited to barangays but include smaller units where a fast doubling time of infection cases are recorded.

“Kahit na isang subdivision, or isang neighborhood ay pupuwedeng ‘yun lang i-lockdown. Depende kung gaano natin mai-identify, mati-trace ‘yung positive cases sa isang lugar,” he said.

According to Año, this operational framework is called “zoning.”

Areas with fast doubling time of COVID-19 cases is called the critical zone, where people are prohibited to enter and exit.

Around the critical zone is the containment zone, where measures similar to general community quarantine (GCQ) are imposed.

Nearby areas outside the containment zone is the buffer zone. Unlike in the containment zone, business operations will be allowed in the buffer zone.

Año said the local governments have the authority to declare these zones with the concurrence of the Regional Inter-Agency Task Force.

On Tuesday, Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., the chief implementer of the national plan against COVID-19, said the government will localize lockdowns at the barangay level instead of region-wide. --Joviland Rita/KBK, GMA News