112 areas nationwide under local lockdown

Over a hundred areas nationwide have been placed under localized lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19, according to the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

DILG Secretary Eduardo Año said the government sees the localized lockdown in areas where there is a concentration of positive and suspected cases as the “best approach” in containing the pandemic.

“Localized lockdown is like hitting COVID-19 at its source, which has been proven to be effective, especially in the 112 areas where it is currently being implemented. It really works since the hot zones are secluded from the rest of the community, hence, stopping the transmission to other communities,” Año said in a statement before the weekend.

The Cordillera Administrative Region leads the regions with the most number of areas under localized lockdown, with 67 areas, which the DILG

said has helped keep the number of positive cases in the region low. Cebu City is second with 19 communities under tight watch, 18 in Metro Manila, five in Cagayan de Oro City and one each in the provinces of Cavite, Quezon and Leyte.

The government earlier said only the interagency task force has the authority to declare community quarantine levels in entire cities, provinces and regions.

However, it empowered local government units to apply a zoning strategy to quarantine specific sitios, barangays or subdivisions under a community lockdown for COVID-19 infections.

DILG spokesman Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said that with the lockdown, LGUs should ensure that they have organized quick response teams to carry out the test-trace-treat strategy against COVID-19.

He added that localized lockdowns cannot be declared with no system in place.