MANILA – Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno has ordered a 48-hour hard lockdown in Tondo District 1 to stem the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

The strict containment measure will take effect from 5 a.m. on May 3 to 5 a.m. on May 5 “for purposes of disease surveillance, verification or testing and rapid risk assessment in relation to COVID-19," according to an April 29 executive order signed by Moreno.

As of Thursday, Tondo District 1 has recorded 86 active COVID-19 cases, 13 deaths, and 8 recoveries. The city government is also monitoring 244 suspected COVID-19 cases in the area.

To date, the city has 527 active COVID-19 cases, 62 deaths, and 94 recoveries. Some 944 people are also suspected to have caught the novel coronavirus while 4 others are considered probable cases.

Under a hard lockdown measure, all residents of Tondo District 1 are prohibited from going outside.

Exempted from the rule are healthcare workers, government workers in frontline and emergency services, private workers involved in essential services, village officers, IATF-accredited media practitioners, and merchants in Divisoria.

The city government earlier placed Sampaloc under a hard lockdown from Thursday to Saturday after the district reported the most number of coronavirus infections in the city.

• Manila to place Sampaloc district under 48-hour 'hard lockdown'

To date, Sampaloc has recorded 110 COVID-19 cases, 11 deaths and 17 fatalities. Health authorities are also monitoring 156 suspected and 3 probable COVID-19 cases.