Manila Mayor Francisco 'Isko Moreno' Domagoso (Photo by Manila PIO)
MANILA – A total of 31 barangays will be placed under a 48-hour lockdown in the city of Manila starting 12 a.m. Saturday (July 4) until 11:59 p.m. Sunday (July 5) due to the high coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases in these areas.
Manila Mayor Francisco "Isko Moreno" Domagoso on Tuesday signed Executive Order No. 31 imposing an enhanced community quarantine on the 31 barangays “in order to contain the spread of and mitigate any adverse effects of Covid-19" and for "purposes of disease surveillance, verification or testing and rapid risk assessment."
The move came after the Manila Health Department submitted a list of 31 barangays in the city with three or more Covid-19 positive cases as of June 15-29.
“On 29 June 2020, Manila Health Department issued a certification verifying that there are a total number of 147 Covid-19 positive cases in the said 31 barangays,” the EO said.
The areas to be placed under hard lockdown are as follows: District 1- barangays 20, 41, 51, 56, 66, 96, 97, 101, 106, 116, 118, 120, 128 and 129.
Under District 2: barangays 163, 173, 180, 185, and 215.
For District 3: barangays 275, 310, 343, and 380.
For District 5: barangays 649, 724, 766, 775 and 811, and for District 6: barangays 836, 846, and 847.
Domagoso reiterated anew that the local government unit is empowered by the national government to impose, lift, or extend ECQ in barangays.
“Under section 455 (b)(I)(cii) of the Local Government Code (LGC), the City Mayor is empowered to carry out such emergency measures as may be necessary during and in the aftermath of man-made and natural disasters and calamities," the EO read.
Domagoso said residents of these barangays shall be strictly confined to their residences and will be prohibited from going outside their homes.
Persons exempted from the order are health workers, military personnel, service workers (pharmacies, drug stores, and funeral homes), utility workers (energy, cable, internet, telecommunication companies, water, sanitation, and critical transport facilities including port operation), essential workers (goods delivery, food delivery, banking, and money services), barangay officials, and media practitioners accredited by the Presidential Communications Operations Office and the IATF.
The order also states that “all other commercial, industrial, retail, institutional and other activities not mentioned in above exemptions in the said district shall be suspended within the specified period of ECQ".
Meanwhile, “station commanders of police stations in the said barangays are hereby directed to employ and deploy officers and personnel in strategic locations and areas necessary for the effective implementation of the ECQ”.
Response efforts lauded
The city government of Manila, meanwhile, was praised by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) for its response measures against Covid-19.
In a Facebook post of the Manila Public Information Office on Tuesday, it stated that DILG director Rolynne Javier, in a meeting with Domagoso, lauded the city's efforts in containing COvid-19.
"Kahanga-hanga ang naging aksyon ng Pamahalaang Lungsod ng Maynila upang sugpuin ang coronavirus disease sa lungsod at tulungan ang mga Manileño habang ipinatutupad ang community quarantine (The actions made by the city government of Manila to mitigate the effect of the coronavirus in the city and the support given to its residents are impressive),” she said.
Javier said the local government made sure that help was given to every family in the city during the time that many are unable to work.
She also noted that Manila recorded a high number of recoveries from Covid-19.
Javier also commended Domagoso for applying different measures to fight the spread of Covid-19, including the establishment of the Manila Infectious Disease Control Center (MIDCC) and the Digital Health Survey to promptly respond to the health needs of Manilenyos. (PNA)
