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Solon proposes 'household lockdowns' vs COVID-19

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ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/news/04/05/20210315-covid-19-lockdown-brgy-374-aa-8220.jpg"/><figcaption>Officials of Barangay 374 in Tambunting, Sta. Cruz, Manila City place caution tapes to isolate an area where a cluster of COVID-19 infections were reported on March 16, 2021. <em>ABS-CBN News</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA <strong>(UPDATE)</strong> - A lawmaker on Monday proposed &quot;household lockdowns&quot; following a surge in COVID-19 cases that pushed many hospitals further to their limits.</p><p>&quot;Instead of closing down entire streets or entire barangays, what we can consider is to do the lockdown at the most granular level, which is the household,&quot; Marikina City 2nd District Rep. Stella Quimbo told ANC&#x27;s Matters of Fact&quot;.</p><p>A family should be barred from leaving the house if a household member tested positive for the virus, Quimbo said. </p><p>The coronavirus patient should isolate at a quarantine facility while family members should be presumed to have COVID-19, she added.</p><p>By implementing household lockdowns, local government units will be able to properly monitor the COVID-19 cases while &quot;the economy outside these households can continue running,&quot; the lawmaker said.</p><p>She said the national government needs to recalibrate its approach to the crisis as the country posted record high numbers of coronavirus infections 1 year into the pandemic.</p><p>&quot;The biggest dilemma that we face, and we hear this often, is that we have to choose health over economic recovery. What I think is we shouldn’t be choosing. I think we should look for ways so that we can actually achieve both health and economic recovery objectives at the same time,&quot; she added.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/04/21/ph-posts-highest-number-of-new-covid-19-recoveries-but-also-over-11k-new-cases">PH posts highest number of new COVID-19 recoveries, but also over 11K new cases</a></li></ul><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1654256" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar"><em>Courtesy of DOH</em></div><p>In the interview, Quimbo said she was &quot;frustrated&quot; with the Department of Health&#x27;s reporting of COVID-19 situation in the country.</p><p>&quot;As you know in medicine, if you are unable to diagnose properly, you can&#x27;t treat your patient properly. So, I think the first step really is diagnosis, more or less accurate reports. So, we have an honest assessment of the situation,&quot; she said.</p><p>In response to Quimbo&#x27;s remark, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the agency acknowledges various concerns from different stakeholders over their response to the crisis.</p><p>&quot;We acknowledged. Of course, &#x27;yong mga concerns na ganito ay bukas naman tayo para tanggapin at tingnan natin kung talaga bang nagkaroon tayo ng ganitong pagkukulang or weaknesses in the system,&quot; she said in a press briefing.</p><p>(We acknowledged. Of course, we are open to these concerns and we&#x27;ll look into the shortcomings and weaknesses in the system.)</p><p>Vergeire said they lost many contact tracers after a gap in the funding of the Department of the Interior and Local Government.</p><p>She also noted that local government units are &quot;burdened&quot; with many responsibilities.</p><p>&quot;They do contact tracing, they do vaccination, they do a lot of things. So, hindi nila masyadong nae-exhaust &#x27;yong lahat na dapat i-trace na (they weren&#x27;t able to exhaust all they need to trace) contacts for a specific individual,&quot; she added.</p><p>Vergeire said the government had implemented the Coordinated Operations to Defeat Epidemic (CODE), a protocol that will begin active case finding through close coordination between DOH representatives and communities across the country.</p><p>As of Sunday, the Philippines recorded over 795,051 coronavirus infections, of which 646,100 recovered while 13,425 died. The tally includes 135,526 active cases or patients deemed infectious.</p><p>The national government extended until April 11 the enhanced community quarantine, the country&#x27;s strictest lockdown measure in 4 levels, in Metro Manila and the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal amid spike in coronavirus cases.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/03/21/iatf-extends-toughest-lockdown-level-in-ncr-plus-for-another-week-at-least">IATF extends toughest lockdown level in NCR Plus for another week &#x27;at least&#x27;</a></li></ul><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1654055" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

<p>A lawmaker on Monday proposed "household lockdowns" following a surge in COVID-19 cases that pushed many hospitals further to their limits.</p>

A lawmaker on Monday proposed "household lockdowns" following a surge in COVID-19 cases that pushed many hospitals further to their limits.