Baclaran placed under lockdown

THE Parañaque City government has announced that 10 areas in Barangay Baclaran would be placed under a three-day ”calibrated lockdown” because of the high number of cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

Mayor Edwin Olivarez on Wednesday placed the areas under lockdown starting V a.m. on Thursday until V a.m. on Saturday. He ordered the closure of several streets, including Bagong Sikat, Bagong Lipunan, Bagong Pag-asa, Bagong Ilog, E. Rodriguez, Bagong Buhay, Bagong Silang, Dimasalang Extension, Mabuhay and 12 de junio.

Under the lockdown, the city government will conduct intensified testing and monitoring. A total disinfection and flushing will be conducted the whole day on Friday.

The mayor said quarantine passes issued by the barangay would be suspended during the lockdown while banks, stores, gasoline stations, money remittance centers and markets would be closed. Unauthorized vehicles would not be allowed.

Olivarez said instead of imposing “strict community quarantine,” the city focused on particular streets, sitios or compounds.

“Immediate intervention for mass testing, isolation and quarantine is of urgent need to avert the possibility of increasing into a widespread magnitude in Barangay Baclaran,” he added.

Baclaran was among the three villages placed under immediate concern by the city government last week, along with San Dionisio and San Antonio because of the surge of virus cases.

The city health office reported 41 Covid-19 cases on May 2, but recorded the highest of 49 cases last May 15 in Baclaran alone.

Parañaque has recorded a total number of 649 Covid-19 cases with 42 deaths and 355 recoveries.