BY MINKA TIANGCO
Two barangays and two hotels in Manila will be placed under lockdown starting Thursday amid the rising number of COVID-19 infections.
Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso on Tuesday signed Executive Order No. 6, placing Barangay 351 in San Lazaro and Barangay 725 in Malate under lockdown from 12:01 a.m. Thursday, March 11, to 11:49 p.m. on Sunday, March 14.
The Manila Public Information Office said Barangay 351 has 12 active COVID-19 cases and Barangay 725 has 14.
Two hotels at Barangay 699 in Malate, where 17 persons with active COVID-19 cases are staying, will also be placed under lockdown. The hotels are Malate Bayview Mansion and Hop Inn Hotel.
In his order, Domagoso said the city government will conduct disease surveillance, massive contact tracing, and verification or testing and rapid risk assessment as their response to the threat of COVID-19.
The Manila Health Department also recommended declaring the said barangays as “critical zones” where enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) guidelines shall be observed.
Residents affected by the lockdown will be subjected to swab testing, the executive order read.
All residents must stay in their houses. Only those with quarantine passes will be allowed to go outside to buy food and other necessities.
The order exempts the following: 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 (Chairpersons, Barangay Secretary, Barangay Treasurers, Kagawads, and Executive Officers), and media practitioners accredited by the Presidential Communications Operations Office and the Inter-Agency Task Force.
Those who need to go to work must present their company IDs to authorities.
Barangay officials and members of the Manila Police District will be deployed to ensure the proper implementation of the lockdown.
Data from the city government showed that as of Tuesday, the capital city has 988 active COVID-19 cases out of 29,444 confirmed cases. Of this figure, 27,639 have recovered while 817 have died.
