Isko sets 48-hour hard lockdown in Tondo

MANILA, Philippines — The first district of Tondo, Manila will be placed on lockdown for 48 hours, Mayor Isko Moreno announced yesterday, adding that Malate, San Andres and Sta. Cruz may be next.

At a press briefing, Moreno said he would sign an executive order today placing the entire first district of Tondo under hard lockdown for the conduct of rapid mass testing.

“We’re eyeing to start the lockdown either May 3 or 4. The area will be a ghost town for two days,” he said.

Moreno said the residents would be given enough time to prepare for the lockdown.

He expressed hope that the lockdown would give the city a head start in containing the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) like what they did in Sampaloc.

Of the 509 COVID-19 cases in Manila as of Tuesday, Sampaloc recorded the most at 103 followed by Tondo’s first district with 81.

Tondo also has the most number of probable COVID-19 cases at 222.

Moreno said he is considering exempting Recto and the Manila port from the lockdown.

Four schools in Tondo will be used as testing centers: Rosario Almario Elementary School, T. Paez High School, Tondo High School and Isabelo delos Reyes Elementary School.

Moreno said San Andres, Malate and Sta. Cruz may be placed on lockdown due to the high number of quarantine violators in these areas.

Gat Andres Hospital closed

City hall shut down the emergency room of the Gat Andres Bonifacio Memorial Medical Center (GABMMC) yesterday after eight of its staff tested positive for COVID-19.

The hospital will remain closed for admission until May 5.

The closure would give way for disinfection of the hospital, Moreno said.

GABMMC director Ted Martin clarified that the hospital is not on lockdown.

“The hospital is only closed for admission. Patients would be referred to five other hospitals run by the city government,” Martin said.