A total of 112 areas in the country have been placed by their respective Local Government Units under localized or granular lockdown, according to the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Friday.

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said this shows that LGUs have been implementing the LGU-led zoning containment strategy developed by the National Task Force against COVID-19 as localized lockdown is the best approach in containing the virus.

Localized lockdown surgically targets areas where cases, either positive or suspected, are concentrated.

Año said the 112 locally quarantined areas in the country prove that with proper implementation, the spread of the coronavirus can be contained on the community-level.

“Localized lockdown is like hitting COVID-19 at its source which has been proven to be effective especially in the 112 areas where it is currently being implemented. It really works since the hot zones areas are secluded from the rest of the community, hence, stopping the transmission to other communities,” he said.

The National Task Force Against COVID-19, led by Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, recently issued the operational guidelines on the zoning strategy in implementing the National Action Plan against COVID-19.

DILG said out of the 112 areas that have been placed under localized lockdown as of June 21, sixty seven are in the Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR); 18 in National Capital Region, 19 in Cebu City, one in Cavite, Quezon Province, and Leyte; and five in Cagayan de Oro City.

CAR’s areas which have carried out or are implementing localized lockdown encompass seven municipalities, 51 barangays, one purok, one subdivision, two buildings, and five zones within Mt. Province, Province of Apayao, Kalinga, Ifugao, Abra, Benguet, and Baguio City.

DILG Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said the decision of the local government units to put their barangays under localized lockdown is “contributory to the low number of positive cases in CAR.”

Based on record, CAR has only 109 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 62 of which are active while 42 cases have recovered. It has a 1.8 percent case fatality rate.

Meanwhile, COVID-19 hotspots such as the National Capital Region (NCR) and Cebu City have 18 and 19 areas that have been placed under localized lockdown, respectively.

In NCR, Quezon City has four areas under localized quarantine; nine in Parañaque City; two in Caloocan City; one each in Muntinlupa City, Navotas City, and Malabon City.

In Cebu City, there are 19 containment zones including Sambag II, Punta Princesa, Tejero, and Inayawan.

The following barangays in Cebu City were identified as hotspots and are under strict lockdown: Sambag II;  Kamputhaw; Sambag 1; Basak San Nicola; Mabolo; Guadalupe; Lahug; Duljo Fatima; Tinago; Tisa; Ermita; and Tejero.

Malaya said since the start of the general community quarantine (GCQ) and modified GCQ, the national government has shifted to the zoning containment strategy since the COVID-19 cases being reported are clustered in several municipalities and communities, making large scale containment operations and interventions no longer feasible, efficient, and cost-effective.

“Thus, the NTF saw the need for an LGU-led containment strategy where LGUs could monitor the pandemic more accurately in their respective areas and allow them to adopt a calibrated response that can adapt to emerging conditions in their areas, enabling them to stay ahead of the outbreak trajectory,” he said.

LGUs are encouraged to place areas, may it be a street, purok, barangay or the whole city or municipality under localized lockdown ‘if the numbers and data point towards that direction.

“LGUs must do all necessary precautionary measures for the safety of their constituents including the localized lockdown,” Malaya added.

DILG reminded LGUs which impose localized lockdown that they must have organized quick response teams that shall carry out the test-trace-treat strategy against COVID-19 in the lockdown areas.  Ella Dionisio/DMS