Are we bidding to community quarantine soon? Before you plan your post-quarantine bash, you should know that the government is not ending lockdowns in the country per se. They’re simply changing things up.
As per ABS-CBN News Online, the country might do away with regional or province-wide lockdowns in a looming “policy shift” to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. The health department suggests resorting to ‘granular lockdowns’ limited to subdivisions, streets, or several houses, said DILG Undersecretary Epimaco Densing.
“Ang mangyayari po kasi dito ngayon, pinaghahanda na rin natin ang mga lokal na gobyerno sa tinatawag nating policy shift on lockdowns (What will happen here is we asked local governments to prepare for a so-called policy shift on lockdowns) ,” Densing said. “Ang tinitingnan po natin… hindi na po tayo magkakaroon ng pangmalawakang lockdown na sa lebel ng rehiyon at probinsya (We are looking at no longer having sweeping lockdowns at the level of the region and province),” he added.
But what does this mean exactly? Unlike the current community lockdown setup, granular lockdowns will bar even authorized persons from leaving their homes, which will lessen public mobility and the chances of COVID-19 spread. The national government will help local authorities provide food assistance in areas under granular lockdowns, he added.
“Gusto lang nating sabihin na hahawakan pa rin ng pambansang gobyerno ang mandato nito kung saka-sakali na mag-lockdown pa rin nang malakihan kung ito’y kinakailangan. Pero ito’y magiging last resort na natin (We just want to say that the national government will still hold the mandate for a wide lockdown, if needed. But this will be our last resort) ,” continued the DILG undersecretary.
This proposal hasn’t been approved yet, so it’s best for further updates from the government. Will this policy shift lower cases across the country? We’ll have to wait to find out.
