Manila Mayor Moreno to put Sampaloc district on 48-hour lockdown

Manila Mayor Isko Moreno announced yesterday that he would be putting Sampaloc under lockdown to control the spread of COVID-19 in the district.

NEWS ALERT: Manila City Mayor @IskoMoreno confirms that a lockdown will be implemented in the Sampaloc area but he says authorities are still “planning it carefully.”

The schedule of the lockdown is yet to be announced, he said.#AlertoManileno #COVID19PH pic.twitter.com/FCDCJ9uV7b

— Manila Public Information Office (@ManilaPIO) April 19, 2020

However, the lockdown is still being planned by the authorities, tweeted the Manila Public Information Office. The district has the most number of COVID-19 cases in Manila, with 98 patients as of yesterday.

Read: Police force ready for total lockdown, 65 cops infected with COVID-19

Brig. Gen. Rolando Miranda, director of the Manila Police District, told the Philippine Star that the lockdown will last for 48 hours.

“We are ready to implement the mayor’s directive. Total lockdown means only health workers, uniformed personnel rendering emergency frontline services and police officers will be allowed to go in and out of the quarantine area,” Miranda said.

He added that the lockdown is necessary because some residents are allegedly not following quarantine rules.

“Some residents are taking COVID-19 for granted. So the local government believes a total lockdown is needed to stop the movement of people and prevent the spread of the virus. We will impose it as soon as the guidelines come out,” Miranda added.

Manila, the country’s capital, has a total of 445 COVID-19 cases, with 48 deaths and 57 recoveries.