Probably I am not the only one who cannot differentiate between lockdown and community quarantine. We heard and read of these terms over and over caused by this dreaded virus by the name of COVID 19. Some people say both terms are the same while others say they are different. Well, we are not supposed to be spending time discussing terms while the virus is creeping around the world. However, understanding the meaning of these government orders can make our compliance easier and prevent the spread of the virus.
This is the first time, as far as I can remember, that something like this happened. So, I can assume that the authorities have no or limited trainings on lockdowns and such and how to go about it. We might not even have existing manuals of procedure in the event something like this happen. Perhaps, not knowing what they mean and lack of basic training, among other reasons, made it difficult for enforcers to implement and for the residents to comply.
I am not sure if my comprehension is low or there is an insufficient explanation by experts and authorities. Nevertheless, receiving unsatisfactory feedback on what those terms mean, it forced me to read further. Again, Wikipedia is most helpful for a quick research on the matter. We find it there that lockdown is a security measure where people are not allowed to leave a building or area freely because of an emergency. People are temporarily prevented from entering or leaving a restricted area during a threat or danger. Quarantine is used to separate and restrict the movement of well persons who may have been exposed to a communicable disease to see if they become ill.
This is how I understand it. Lockdown is for security purposes in order to prevent the entry of the virus or carriers of virus in an area. If an area is locked down, any person can be denied entry or exit. Community quarantine on the other hand, is used to isolate an area so that those people residing in the area suspected to be exposed to the virus may be contained. It does not mean that those under quarantine are infected. This is a measure to observe a person or persons in the area whether they are infected or not.
The problem is, we do not know who is exposed or not. It is no longer a case of people coming in from abroad. The health experts say, the virus became localized. It means, even if we do not have a travel history in another country, we can be exposed to the virus locally. That is why the quarantine is not limited to a number of people but community wide, and in our case, the whole Island of Luzon. This means, our situation is both a (partial) lockdown and community quarantine.
So, when there is a declaration of a lockdown, expect to be denied entry or exit an area. We can roam around but we cannot leave. On a community quarantine, we are not supposed to roam around due to the risk of exposure to the virus or due to the fact we could be infected and we should not contaminate the community. Finally, when the authorities say we should stay inside our homes we should do it. In this way, we can stop the spread of the virus and the faster we can move on to normal lives.