A police officer is stationed in a locked down area in Metro Manila. FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines鈥擜fter over a week of delay, the Philippine government finally decided to implement a shift in community quarantine status for Metro Manila to a new system, which was supposedly simpler, starting on Sept. 16.
Metro Manila has been placed on Alert Level 4 until Sept. 30 as part of the pilot run of the new system of lockdown, which officials called granular because it would not cover entire cities or entire regions.
READ: NCR under Alert Level 4 Sept. 16-30 for granular lockdown tests
This was after the government deferred the supposed implementation of the new system on Sept. 7.
Under the new lockdown system, which will last for a period not shorter than 14 days, there would only be two quarantine classifications鈥攅nhanced community quarantine and general community quarantine鈥攊n Metro Manila.
A four-level alert system, to be assigned by local government units (LGUs) in their areas, determines if establishments in closed areas, crowded areas, and those that involve close contact would be allowed to operate and at what capacity.
READ: What to expect during NCR pilot of granular lockdowns, new alert level system
While the government seems to be more prepared for the pilot implementation of the new scheme the second time around, here are some crucial COVID-related data and issues to be considered or addressed as Metro Manila shifts to a new form of lockdown.
Graphic by Ed Lustan
No warning?
In a radio interview on Sunday (Sept. 12), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said the pilot run for a localized lockdown system will not come with warnings.
鈥淭he smaller the granular lockdown imposed, the better for our countrymen. If possible, only one, two, or four houses [will be] covered. If there鈥檚 community transmission, only a street,鈥� he said.
鈥淏ut it will not come with a warning. You鈥檒l find out only once imposed. The only one to know will be the city health office, which has the data,鈥� said Malaya, adding that warnings could 鈥渄efeat the purpose鈥� of the government plan.
But Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo A帽o on Tuesday (Sept. 14) said there have been revisions in the new lockdown system.
A帽o said the local government or local officials have the authority to declare a localized lockdown. 鈥淪o actually it鈥檚 up to them whether they will give a warning or not,鈥� he said in Filipino in an interview with GMA鈥檚 Unang Hirit radio program.
A帽o said the majority of areas in the metro are under Alert Level 4 although some qualify to be under Alert Level 5, the highest. Two areas are under Alert Level 3.
According to IATF guidelines, persons who may enter and exit areas on localized lockdown were health workers, uniformed personnel enforcing the restrictions, returning or outbound overseas Filipino workers, and those with emergencies.
础谤谤别蝉迟颈苍驳听鈥榩补蝉补飞补测蝉鈥�
Prior to the government鈥檚 announcement on the new lockdown scheme in Metro Manila, Local Government Undersecretary for Barangay Affairs Martin Di帽o reiterated that there was a need to penalize quarantine violators.
鈥淲e will file a case against those who will violate [the lockdowns],鈥� Di帽o said in a radio interview over dzBB last Sept. 9.
According to him, there鈥檚 already a law that can be used to charge violators.
The law he was pertaining to was Republic Act No. 11332, or the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act.
Under RA11332, the following are considered prohibited acts:
- Non-operation of the disease surveillance and response systems
- Non-cooperation of persons and entities that should report and/or respond to notifiable diseases or health events of public concern
- Non-cooperation of person or entities identified as having the notifiable disease or affected by the health event of public concern
Those who will be found guilty face a penalty of not more than six months imprisonment or a fine of not more than P50,000.
READ: What you need to know when arrested for quarantine violation
However, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra clarified in 2020 that arrests could be made only when there is a 鈥渟erious resistance or disobedience鈥� to authorities.
Di帽o also urged the public to report violators.
鈥淚t is your obligation to report to the barangay so they can get the names and file cases [against the offenders],鈥� he said speaking in Filipino.
鈥淲e are protecting lives here. [Violating quarantine rules] is worse than stealing something from someone because you are robbing peoples鈥� lives,鈥� he added.
Human rights advocates, on the other hand, have been protesting against excessive penalties and punishment for quarantine violators.
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) described excessive punishment as an 鈥渙verreach鈥� on quarantine rules following reports of strenuous exercise routine imposed on quarantine violators as punishment for violating curfew鈥攚hich led to the death of 28-year-old Darren Pe帽aredondo in April.
鈥淓xcessive punishments and fines which are punitive in nature and disproportionate with the violation represent an overreach of the enforcement of quarantine rules and regulations,鈥� the CHR said in a statement.
Also in April, another alleged quarantine violator died due to excessive violence used by some government personnel in enforcing curfew policies.
CHR said the strict measures are 鈥渢antamount to torture鈥� and 鈥渢he reason for the deprivation of the utmost right to life.鈥�
READ: Lockdown enforcement turns into 鈥榯orture鈥� 鈥� CHR
However, Di帽o insisted that punishment and penalties should be imposed鈥攅specially during the pilot run for the new lockdown scheme.
鈥淭he government is already too kind,鈥� he said.
鈥淗uman rights [groups question these measures]. But when we don鈥檛 impose strict rules鈥here are already two million individuals who contracted [COVID-19] in the country,鈥� he added.
Surges and lockdowns
The country is still on COVID lockdown, for over 500 days now, as President Rodrigo Duterte鈥檚 coronavirus task force constantly revises COVID rules.
Quarantine terms have been evolving鈥攆rom 鈥渃ommunity quarantine鈥� to 鈥済ranular鈥濃�攁nd re-implemented countless times but COVID cases continued to rise, with 2,266,066 total cases as of Sept. 14.
READ: Bubble, circuit breaker anyone? The birth of a new COVID lexicon in PH
Of these, 177,670 were marked as active cases while 2,052,867 infected persons have already recovered and 35,529 died.
Despite strict quarantine measures, the country still sees record-high daily cases.
On Sept. 11, while Metro Manila was on modified ECQ and some areas under less restrictive lockdown systems, the Department of Health (DOH) reported an all-time high daily COVID case of 26,303.
READ: PH records highest COVID-19 case count at 26,303 鈥� DOH
On Sept. 9, the daily COVID-19 tally reported by the DOH stood at 22,820 cases鈥攁nother record.
The third highest daily count logged since the coronavirus pandemic started in 2020 was on Aug. 30, with 22,366 new COVID-19 cases.
Around this time, Metro Manila was on ECQ, the most stringent form of community quarantine.
Between March and April, when Metro Manila and four adjacent provinces鈥擱izal, Bulacan, Cavite, and Laguna鈥攚ere on ECQ for the second time since 2020, the country set a new record for highest single-day increase in COVID cases.
On April 2, the country registered 15,310 new cases of COVID-19.
Aside from the consistent increase in the number of infected persons in the country, health care workers continued to feel overwhelmed despite strict quarantine measures implemented by the government to prevent transmission of SARS Cov2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and its variants.
Hospitals are again reaching full capacity as more COVID-19 patients get admitted amid the heightened threat of COVID-19 due to its various variants, especially the highly transmissible Delta.
As of Sept. 13, the country鈥檚 bed occupancy rate is 71.6 percent, which the DOH classified as high risk, with a total of 29,359 out of 41,025 beds occupied by COVID patients.
In addition,聽 76.95 percent鈥攐r 3,231 of 4,199 total鈥� Intensive Care Units (ICU) beds solely for COVID-19 patients in over 1,000 hospitals nationwide are already in use, according to the same DOH data.
The health department further said that 68.34 percent鈥攐r 14,376 of 21,035 isolation beds鈥攁nd 73.92 percent鈥攐r 11,860 of 16,044 ward beds鈥攁re likewise occupied.
Vaccination and other measures
For Dr. Rafael Castillo, dean emeritus and lead faculty member for research of the Fame Leaders鈥� Academy, the government is 鈥渟abotaging its own efforts to curb the current outbreak [of COVID-19 cases]鈥� by imposing lockdowns amid the ongoing vaccine drive.
鈥淸W]e鈥檙e conducting mass vaccinations in a not too well-organized manner, with hundreds and thousands congregating, making these vaccination centers superspreader venues,鈥� said Castillo, who also writes a column for the Inquirer.
鈥淭he lockdown is not working because we鈥檙e neutralizing its impact with the mass vaccinations, which we鈥檙e even escalating even in areas with unbridled outbreaks,鈥� he said.
READ: Gov鈥檛 鈥榮abotaging own efforts鈥� with vax drive during lockdown 鈥� doctor
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), lockdowns can slow down COVID-19 transmissions as it limit contact among people.
鈥淗owever, these measures can have a profound negative impact on individuals, communities, and societies by bringing social and economic life to a near stop,鈥� said WHO.
鈥淪uch measures disproportionately affect disadvantaged groups, including people in poverty, migrants, internally displaced people and refugees, who most often live in overcrowded and under resourced settings, and depend on daily labour for subsistence,鈥� it added.
In order to achieve herd immunity, WHO said a substantial proportion of a population should receive vaccines.
Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. on Sept. 9 said the government has administered a total of 37,176,513 doses of COVID vaccines.
Over 15 million Filipinos are also now fully vaccinated against COVID, he said.
Still, the WHO acknowledged that lockdowns are imposed in some countries to buy time.
鈥淕overnments must make the most of the extra time granted by 鈥榣ockdown鈥� measures by doing all they can to build their capacities to detect, isolate, test and care for all cases; trace and quarantine all contacts; engage, empower and enable populations to drive the societal response and more,鈥� the WHO said.
This was echoed by Vice President Leni Robredo, who pushed for more COVID testing in order to effectively isolate areas where rapid community transmissions are taking place.
鈥淥ne of my recommendations was to increase testing at 120,000 a day. I was telling you earlier that our positivity rate was at 21 percent, at 8,900 cases,鈥� said Robredo in an interview with CNN Philippines.
鈥淏ut when you look at how many tests were conducted, we are still at the level before this surge, which is in the range of 50,000 tests,鈥� Robredo said.
鈥淭his only means that we should really test more,鈥� the Vice President said.
The international standard for positivity rate, or the rate of virus transmission, should be less than 5 percent, Robredo said.
鈥淪o if it鈥檚 21 percent per day we are not testing enough,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his is something that we have repeatedly recommended since last year鈥攖hat we should test more,鈥� Robredo said.