The Philippine National Police (PNP) has expressed readiness in the enforcement of hard lockdown if, and only if, the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of the Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) amid the rising number of Delta variant cases in the country.
“Hindi na bago sa inyong PNP ang anumang uri ng quarantine restrictions kaya makakaasa ang lahat ng aming kahandaan kung ano man ang ipag-uutos ng ating IATF at mga lokal na pamahalaan, (There is really nothing new on whatever quarantine restrictions that would be implemented. We did it before and we are always ready whatever the IATF decision on the matter),” said PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar.
Independent OCTA Research group suggested a “circuit-breaker” lockdown in Metro Manila after the region recorded an average of almost 1,000 cases daily amid the threat of the more infectious Delta variant.
Deputy chief implementer of the National Task Force against COVID-19 Vince Dizon has said the national government is open to imposing a hard lockdown to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant.
The business sector has agreed to the proposed measure.
But even before the proposal for a hard lockdown, Eleazar said he had already ordered all police commanders to continue implementing the quarantine rules issued by the IATF, adding that they were also instructed to closely coordinate with local government units for possible adjustments in quarantine measures.
Eleazar, however, said that the key to effective prevention on the spread of COVID-19 is the cooperation of the public.
“We will not go to that extent (hard lockdown) if everyone is just mindful of his or her personal safety because the threat of COVID-19 is still there and especially because of this Delta variant,” said Eleazar.
The Delta variant was tagged as the reason behind the sudden upsurge of cases in India, one of the countries heavily devastated by coronavirus. The Delta variant is seen as the reason behind the upsurge of cases in Indonesia.
“Nevertheless, we are always ready to enforce the rules for the protection of everybody,” said Eleazar.
In fact, he said he had also directed police chiefs to prepare the deployment plan of their personnel, especially in areas where there were recorded cases of the COVID-19 Delta variant.