As the Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) in Metro Manila is set to expire on September 7, San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora bared on Monday the details of the granular lockdown system which aims to give the economy a boost amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the threat of the more transmissible Delta variant.
"Basically, what will happen is the entire Metro Manila will be under GCQ (General Community Quarantine) status but areas with high cases will be under granular lockdown. When I say areas, this will not be city-wide anymore, it will not be barangay-wide anymore, it will be for instance a road, a compound, an apartment, a specific pocket area which has a high number of cases," Zamora said in an interview with CNN Philippines on Monday.
He said the operating capacity of businesses will depend on alert levels, as defined by the Department of Health based on case count, hospital bed occupancy rate, and the presence of the more transmissible Delta coronavirus variant.
Zamora said mayors will closely monitor establishments referred to as 3Cs: closed areas, crowded areas, and activities requiring close contact.
"It will be dependent on certain alert levels. Under Alert level 4 for instance, the 3Cs will not be allowed; Alert level 3 -- 30 percent capacity will be allowed; Alert level 2 -- 50 percent; and Alert level 1 at full capacity," he said.
The mayor added that most Metro Manila mayors have been conducting granular lockdowns in their areas even before Metro Manila was placed under the most stringent quarantine classification.
"We have been executing granular lockdowns here in San Juan for the past few months, in fact, most Metro Manila LGUs (local government units) do this. What you really need is to be very meticulous and very detailed in implementing it because if one particular condominium for instance has several cases, you don't need to lockdown the entire barangay. Just that specific condominium and that is the essence of the granular lockdown," Zamora said.