Sampaloc to go under 48-hour ‘hard lockdown’

MANILA, Philippines — Manila Mayor Isko Moreno yesterday ordered a 48-hour “hard lockdown” of the whole Sampaloc district to allow the government to conduct disease surveillance and rapid risk assessment and testing for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Moreno signed the city ordinance that will effectively shut down the entire district from 8 p.m. on Thursday to 8 p.m. on Saturday. However, since the city is under curfew, Sampaloc – which has 99 cases, the highest in Manila – will be closed until 5 a.m. on Sunday.

For the duration of the lockdown, all quarantine passes are cancelled and violators will not be taken to the police station but will be temporarily detained in a facility designated by the mayor, which most likely is the Dapitan Sports Complex.

All Sampaloc residents are prohibited from leaving their homes except for those who are exempted under the enhanced community quarantine, Moreno said.

He called on residents to take the lockdown seriously because it will help “flatten the curve.”

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