Adapting to the changing times, the country may shift to granular instead of wide-scale lockdowns by September in the continuing efforts to slow down the transmission of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año said Friday, Aug. 27.
“Ito ang sinasabi nating living with the virus. Hindi rin maaapektuhan ng husto 'yong isang buong probinsiya o buong city na hindi na makagalaw. Tamang-tama naman na by that time, mataas na rin ang ating vaccinated population. Naga-aadjust tayo sa changing time (We refer to this as living with the virus. It will not severely affect a whole province or entire city being paralyzed. This is just right since by that time, there will be an increased number of vaccinated population. We are adjusting to the changing times),’’ Año said.
But Año clarified that the plan has yet to be approved by President Duterte.
In an interview over ABS-CBN's TeleRadyo, Año stated that they were trying to avoid the enforcement of lockdowns in large areas as the government tries to adjust its policies.
Granular lockdowns are imposed in specific streets, villages, buildings, alleys and similar areas with high numbers of COVID-19 cases with such restrictions being left to the discretion of the local government units (LGUs), Año added.
Under granular lockdowns, Año stressed that authorized persons outside residence (APOR) are prohibited from leaving their homes with the exemption of health care workers.
“As for the imposition of the enhanced community quarantine, the country's strictest lockdown level, it would be up to the national government,’’ Año maintained.