Thread by @ManilaPIO

Mayor Isko on Manila COVID-19 situation: 'We're prepared for the worst possible scenario'

#AlertoManileno #BagongMaynila

Manila Mayor Francisco 'Isko Moreno' Domagoso said that for the past two weeks the city government has been doing 24/7 monitoring and intensified contact tracing in a bid to curb the recent spike in the number of COVID-19 cases.

"[We are checking] if rules are bring implemented properly by enforcement agencies and if barangays are doing their responsibility to contain infections," the mayor said in an interview on ANC's "Matters of Fact" on Friday, March 18.

The mayor stated, "Fully equipped logistically ang City of Manila because we've been preparing for this kind of situation — the worst possible scenario — so we have enough people [serving as] contact tracers."

The City of Manila has been implementing granular lockdowns, restricitng the movements in barangays that have the most number of new COVID-19 infections.

Last week, the areas that were locked down for four days were Barangays 351 and 725, as well the Malate Bayview Mansion and the Hop Inn Hotel in Barangay 699.

This week, the following areas are under a four-day lockdown:

Barangay 185 Zone 16 (Tondo 2)
Barangay 374 Zone 38 (Sta. Cruz)
Barangay 521 Zone 52 (Sampaloc)
Barangay 628 Zone 63 (Sta. Mesa)
Barangay 675 Zone 74 (Paco)
Barangay 847 Zone 92 (Pandacan)

Domagoso said that granular lockdowns help the city's contact tracers do their work quickly and efficiently.

Citing the outcome of last week's granular lockdown, he revealed, "We tested those in the community and sa lalong madalig panahon natagpuan yung iba pang infected. There were about 25 of them."

The mayor explained that for every infected person, tracers are able to locate an average of 11 to 15 people who came into close contact with him or her.

Aside from implementing granular lockdowns, ensuring the observance of health protocols, and contact tracing, the City Government of Manila is also continuing the delivery of food boxes as part of its COVID-19 Food Security Program (FSP).

The barangays under lockdown are prioritized when it comes to the delivery of the FSP food boxes. "We have a plan to really mitigate the socioeconomic impact of COVID-19," said Domagoso. "Because there is also an economic repercussion in every policy that we introduce."