Malacañang on Monday called on families residing in Metro Manila to impose lockdowns within their homes to help prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Palace spokesman Harry Roque made the statement as he urged families to not solely rely on community quarantine labels.

“Alam ninyo po, huwag na tayong mag-rely pa sa mga ECQ-ECQ – family lockdown ang solusyon po dito,” Roque said, referring to enhanced community quarantine, the tightest lockdown classification.

“Nananawagan po ako sa lahat, ng hepe ng mga pamilya…mga family heads: mag-declare na po kayo ng household lockdown. Huwag ninyo nang palabasin ang inyong mga mahal sa buhay dahil baka mamatay pa iyan dahil sa Delta variant,” he added.

Metro Manila will be placed under ECQ from Aug. 6 to 20 to curb the spread of Delta.

Delta is a “variant of concern,” according to the World Health Organization.

According to the OCTA Research Team, the variant could infect five to eight people.

The country has recorded 1,605,762 Covid-19 cases as of Aug. 2. John Ezekiel J. Hirro