MANILA – What will be the quarantine level of Western Visayas by Sept. 8 and who is going to make such determination?
There will be no policy shift yet for regions outside the National Capital Region (NCR), according to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID).
The “granular lockdown” policy was only recommended for the NCR beginning Tuesday, said the IATF-MEID.
Trade secretary Ramon Lopez said over the weekend that the IATF-MEID opted to pilot the “granular lockdown” in Metro Manila before having it in the entire country.
There were hopes for such a policy shift in Western Visayas and other parts of the country by Sept. 8. The quarantine classifications released by the IATF-MEID late last month is only until Sept. 7.
In the current classifications, Iloilo city and province, and Aklan are under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ); Bacolod City, Capiz and Antique under general community quarantine (GCQ) with heightened restrictions; and Negros Occidental and Guimaras under GCQ.
The new quarantine classifications for Western Visayas and the rest of the country are expected to be announced during President Rodrigo Duterte’s “Talk to the People” on Monday night.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque told Panay News on Sunday that even the implementation of the granular lockdown in Metro Manila is still waiting the President’s approval.
Lopez, however, noted that the planned policy shift to “granular lockdown” for the entire country is good for the economy badly affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
“Granular lockdown will be limited to few and small specific areas with high COV ID-19 transmissions; but other areas will allow some more sector openings and capacity so that more jobs can be brought back,” Lopez said in a statement.
“While some sectors will already be allowed to reopen, it is not totally open since we never talk about going back to normal. Strict protocols are still to be implemented,” he added.
Lopez further said granular lockdowns will better prepare the government in balancing the economy and people’s livelihood against health risks arising from the surge in COVID-19 cases due to the more contagious Delta variant./PN