Pampanga guv orders LGUs to carry out granular lockdown

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – Governor Dennis Pineda on Thursday ordered the strict granular lockdown of villages with clustering cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

Pineda said on Thursday the most effective way to curb the rising Covid-19 cases in the province is the immediate and aggressive response of the mayors.

“Hindi natin hahayaan na maapektuhan ang buong probinsya kung magsasagawa tayo ng kabuuang lockdown. Kawawa ang mga nagtatatrabaho at nagnenegosyo. Dapat tutukan natin ng husto yung mga barangay na mataas masyado ang kaso (We will not allow our entire province to be affected if we implement total lockdown. It would be disadvantageous to the workers and business owners. We should focus on those barangays with high cases),” the governor said in an official social media account post.

Simultaneous with the granular lockdown in the barangays, he said local government units (LGUs) must also conduct house-to-house contact tracing, antigen testing, more strict checkpoints, disinfection, food assistance to the affected household, distribution of medicines to those with Covid-19 symptoms or by bringing them to the isolation facilities.

Pineda likewise asked the local officials to add more temporary treatment and monitoring facilities (TTMF) in their respective jurisdictions.

He asked for the cooperation of the local executives to expedite the vaccination rollout in the province.

The governor said the province targets to inoculate some 20,000 individuals daily to ensure population protection against Covid-19 as soon as possible.

As of Aug. 25, the total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the province is 33,173.

Of these numbers, there are 5,268 active cases, 26,249 recoveries, and 1,656 deaths. (PNA)