Pilot testing of granular lockdown in NCR to start this week

As the current modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) is coming to a close, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) released the guidelines on the pilot implementation of granular lockdowns which will begin on September 16, 2021.

New sets of guidelines for granular lockdown are in

A granular lockdown aims to enforce quarantine restrictions in small yet critical areas, or pilot areas, which will last for a standard of 14 days. The government has come up with five alert levels to go along with it to determine the activities allowed depending on the COVID-19 situation.

Alert Level 1

• COVID-19 transmission is low and decreasing.
• Total bed utilization rate is decreasing.
• Intensive care unit utilization rate is low.

Alert Level 2

• COVID-19 transmission is low and decreasing.
• Healthcare utilization is low.
• Case counts are low but increasing, or case counts are low and decreasing but total bed utilization rate and intensive care unit utilization rate is increasing.

Alert Level 3

• Case counts are high and/or increasing.
• Total bed utilization rate and intensive care unit utilization rate at increasing utilization.

Alert Level 4

• Case counts are high and/or increasing.
• Total bed utilization rate and intensive care unit utilization rate are high.

Alert Level 5

• Case counts are alarming.
• Total bed utilization rate and intensive care unit utilization rate at critical level.

Starting on September 16, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año said that Metro Manila will be under general community quarantine (GCQ) with Alert Level 4.

The Department of Health (DOH) is the one responsible for identifying the Alert Level of a pilot area. If a pilot area is placed under Alert Level 5, the quarantine restriction will be equivalent to guidelines under the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).

The new quarantine restriction focuses on certain areas

According to DILG Spokesperson Jonathan Malaya, granular lockdowns will be imposed without a warning. He added that if there’s a warning, it would defeat the purpose. The city health office will only be the one to know as it has the data to determine COVID-19 situations.

But at least, households within areas under granular lockdown will be provided with assistance by their respective local government units (LGUs) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Of note, only health workers, uniformed personnel, and returning or outbound overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) will be allowed to go in and out of an area under granular lockdown.

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