Areas under granular lockdown up to 853 from 566 —PNP

From 556, the number of areas under granular lockdown across the country due to COVID-19 has increased to 853, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Friday.

Based on the PNP data as of Thursday, 338 of these locked down areas are in Cordillera, 316 in Ilocos, 137 in Cagayan, 29 in Mimaropa, 17 in the National Capital Region, and 16 in Zamboanga.

A total of 2,289 people were affected by the restrictions.

To ensure security and adherence to the minimum health standards, the PNP has deployed 316 personnel and 1,117 force multipliers in the lockdown areas.

Local government units (LGUs) decide whether to impose or lift a granular lockdown on a house, compound, street, or building based on the number of infections reported.

Granular lockdowns are micro-level area COVID-19 quarantines for "critical zones" in LGUs.

On Thursday, the Department of Health (DOH) reported 18,191 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the country’s COVID-19 tally to 3,493,447. A total of 226,521 are still active cases.

With 74 new fatalities, the death toll due to the disease in the country rose to 53,736. —LBG, GMA News