The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) is looking to phase out the large-scale community quarantine encompassing entire regions, provinces, cities and municipalities.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the IATF-EID is leaning towards shifting to granular lockdowns, where the local government units (LGUs) will be the one in charge with the quarantine qualifications in their respective areas.

Roque said the removal of community quarantines is now possible as the country accelerates its mass vaccination program and with fewer vaccinated Filipinos getting hospitalized or dying from severe COVID-19.

“Sa mula’t mula po, the science supports and our experience supports the view na mas epektibo po talaga ang localized and granular lockdowns. We are moving towards that direction,” he said. “Ang mga LGUs naman talaga ang mas nakakaalam kung nasaan iyong mga areas of infection. It’s a principle that has been approved as a principle (by the IATF-EID) pero the details hindi pa po na-approve.”

The Palace spokesperson further said that the IATF-EID is now ironing out the details of the new scheme, which must also be approved by President Rodrigo Duterte before it could be implemented.

In crafting the details, Roque said, the IATF-EID would also consider proposals on the reopening of more business establishments to the public, but with different rules for vaccinated and unvaccinated people.

It was Department of the Interior and Local Government Undersecretary for Operations Epimaco Densing who first made public the possible shift to granular lockdowns from the community quarantines.

Meanwhile, Bacolod City remains under the general community quarantine (GCQ) with heightened restrictions status while Negros Occidental is still under GCQ from September 1 to 7./WDJ