Manila preparing for hard lockdown

MANILA, Philippines — The Manila city government is preparing for a possible hard lockdown amid the threat of the Delta variant of COVID-19, Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna said yesterday.

Lacuna said Mayor Isko Moreno met with city hall officials and hospital directors on Wednesday to prepare for a probable surge in Delta variant cases.

In an interview on dzMM, Lacuna said Moreno issued a memorandum directing barangay authorities to prepare for enhanced community quarantine in the National Capital Region.

In a July 28 memorandum, the Manila barangay bureau ordered local officials to prepare the issuance of quarantine passes.

“The memo is just for a possible lockdown. The mayor’s instruction was for the city government to always be ready,” Lacuna said.

There were 651 active COVID cases in Manila as of yesterday, up from 642 cases.

The city government is preparing for a lockdown after the Metro Manila Council expressed readiness to enforce a two-week stricter community quarantine as long as financial assistance is provided to affected residents.

Marikina wants  more vaccines

In Marikina, Mayor Marcelino Teodoro asked the national government for more vaccines to boost the city’s inoculation drive.

With the new modifications to the general community quarantine (GCQ) in Metro Manila, Teodoro said the local government would be exhausting all measures and resources to implement stricter health protocols.

“Key to this is more vaccine supplies,” he said. “We implore the national government to deploy additional vaccines to Marikina so we can inoculate as many people as possible.”

Metro Manila will remain under GCQ with heightened restrictions until Aug. 15. – Neil Jayson Servallos