Thursday, March 11, 2021

Coronavirus Lockdown: Blessing The Vaccine, Pandemic Fatigue, and More!

More news about how the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines is being handled by the public and the government. 

Before the vaccine rollout started at San Lazaro hospital a priest was called in to bless the vaccines.

https://twitter.com/_iancruz/status/1366910376873369603

There is really nothing so odd about this. The Catholic's bless bells and animals and the local mall opened only after a mass.

Many are eagerly awaiting the lifting of restrictions but not the mayor of Tacloban.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1132400

The city government has welcomed the decision of the national inter-agency task force for the management of emerging infectious diseases (IATF) to place the city under general community quarantine (GCQ) for six months in a row.

Mayor Alfred Romualdez said in a press briefing Wednesday the city’s current pandemic situation warrants a more strict movement restriction to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

Romualdez said with 80 active cases in the city, he cannot guarantee that the numbers will decrease soon.

“Tacloban is the center of the region and with many entry points in the city, we cannot really guarantee to sustain the zero case in two to three weeks,” he told reporters.

“We may not have cases today but the next day somebody infected may be able to enter the city considering that the airport and major port are in the city. When we are under GCQ, it is easier for the authorities to guard the city,” he added.

The quarantine status, according to Romualdez, will make the city a priority in the distribution of vaccines.

Stricter quarantine measures will help the authorities to guard the city says the mayor.

When can the we expect the easing of restrictions? Duterte has spoken.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/778292/duterte-open-to-easing-restrictions-after-vaccinating-2m-pinoys-nograles/story/

President Rodrigo Duterte will consider easing restrictions in areas under general community quarantine (GCQ) status once at least two million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said Thursday.

Nograles made the remark when asked if President Rodrigo Duterte is now open to resume limited face-to-face classes with the COVID-19 vaccination program up and running. 

“The President reiterated his stand that he wants a more rigorous, more widespread vaccination program. Ang sabi niya, unless he sees two million vaccine doses are being administered, that's when he will start considering the opening of GCQ areas, to consider putting it under MGCQ (Modified General Community Quarantine),” Nograles said.

2 million people means 4 millions vaccines because the COVID-19 vaccine is a two step process.  Two injections.  Who knows when that will happen!

The government is going all out to convict people to get jabbed.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1132553

The Presidential Communications Operations Office – Office of the Global Media and Public Affairs (PCOO-OGMPA) is releasing a series of explainer videos dubbed "The VAXplainer” just in time for the rollout of the government’s nationwide vaccination program.

It aims to boost the confidence of the Filipino people in Covid-19 vaccine by educating about the importance of getting vaccinated and the efficacy of the vaccines against the virus.

“The VAXplainer is only a part of our numerous efforts and commitment to make Filipinos fully understand the importance of vaccines and convince them to be inoculated with the available safe and effective vaccines provided by the government,” PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar said in a news release on Wednesday.

Andanar said the PCOO also has Laging Handa Dokyu Series, Network Briefing, and Laging Handa Public Briefing, among others, “as part of our information campaign to inform the people”.

He added that “The VAXplainer” is part of the PCOO’s drive to encourage Filipinos to heed the call of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, the Philippine government, and the international community to be vaccinated against Covid-19 to save lives, revive hopes, and shape our future.

This is propaganda. There is no propaganda to get people healthy to eliminate comorbidities which exacerbate COVID-19 deaths. Instead they want you to take the vaccine which contains.......?

The DOLE is being urged to protect workers from employers who would penalize them for not taking the vaccine.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/778285/dole-urged-to-issue-guidelines-to-protect-workers-vs-no-vaccine-no-work-policy/story/

Senator Joel Villanueva on Thursday appealed to the Department of Labor and Employment to issue clear guidelines on the reported "no vaccine, no work" policy to ensure that workers' rights are upheld and protected.

In a statement, Villanueva, who chairs the Senate committee on labor, warned against discriminating workers who decide not to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

“A worker can be late for work and be penalized with salary deduction. But a government guilty of vaccine tardiness faces no such reprimand, even if it causes the nation P2.8 billion in economic losses daily,” Villanueva said.

“A worker who is not yet immune from the virus shouldn't lose his immunity from being fired arbitrarily," he added.

The senator said that instead of forcing workers to get a vaccine and threatening their employment, employers should be carrying out confidence building efforts in their company.

Several groups have opposed the supposed plan of some companies to impose a "no vaccine, no work" policy.

Some workers have reportedly approached the Associated Labor Union as early as last year expressing their concern over a warning by employers that their company will implement a "no vaccine, no work" policy.

Villanueva said workers should not be faulted for refusing to be vaccinated if they still have concerns on the vaccine to be used on them.

And what about other venues like airplanes? Why should anyone be forced to get a vaccine for any reason whatsoever be it travel or employment.

COVID-19 cases are on the rise again with 3,439 in just one day. The DOH says more variants have been detected in the nation but they are not causing the rise in cases. 

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/06/21/doh-spike-in-covid-19-cases-due-to-breach-of-health-protocol-variants-just-a-factor

The Department of Health (DOH) is attributing the recent spike in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the country to people's failure to comply with minimum health standards that seek to prevent infection.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said this in a public press briefing Saturday, adding that the presence of more transmissible coronavirus variants in the country were just "aggravating factors" in the rising number of cases.  

(We need to change public perception about this. Yes, we have detected variants but we need to also see that we did not comply with health protocols. So if we see continuous violations of health guidance, definitely, the cases will rise. And the variants are just aggravating factors. 

The Philippines has been enforcing a nearly yearlong quarantine, with face masks, face shields and physical distancing required in public places. Mass gatherings are still prohibited, but restrictions have been loosened to revive the economy. 

(We are monitoring our situation. We can't assure the public that we will not have another enhanced community quarantine when we reach a point that we will need to close cities and regions because of the situation. We will just do this as an additional measure. But this situation will not happen if we help the government and comply with the minimum standards we have.) 

Again the DOH is blaming the people for being lax with health protocols when every survey says otherwise. The variants are likely what's causing the surge.

Predictions about how the current surge in cases will develop seem rather dire. The OCTA says there could be up to 6,000 new cases per day by the end of March.

The country is projected to have 5,000 to 6,000 new COVID-19 cases per day by the end of March after it saw an increase in additional coronavirus cases being reported daily, the OCTA Research said Sunday.

OCTA Research said in its latest monitoring report that “based on the current reproduction number, NCR is projected to have 2,000 new COVID-19 cases per day by March 21 and 3,000 new cases per day by March 31, while the country is projected to have 5,000 to 6,000 new cases per day by the end of March.”

“The last time the region had seen this rate of increase was in July [2020]. However, this surge is spreading more quickly than the July-August surge, and this suggests the possibility that the surge is driven by SARS-CoV-2 variants,” said OCTA.

“The original strain does not spread this quickly considering the health guidelines in place,” it added.

This group says the surge is due to variants while the DOH says health protocol violations are what's driving the surge. How can both groups come to such different conclusions?

There are many proposals on how to stop this surge. The PNP says people should refrain from public displays of affection.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) is discouraging people from displaying "physical, social and romantic relationships" in public, citing health protocols amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The virus may be right before them. Infection happens to families, it can happen to anyone, anywhere," said PNP spokesman Police Brigadier General Ildebrandi Usana on Wednesday.

As the country faces a surge in new COVID-19 cases, Usana said people "should maintain being cautious from the spread of the virus."

Government officials are placing various barangays under lockdown again.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1405156/list-manila-qc-impose-lockdowns-on-several-areas-after-covid-19-surge

The city governments of Manila and Quezon City on Tuesday have placed several areas under localized lockdown in a bid to address the increasing number of COVID-19 infections. 

In a Facebook Live, Moreno explained that the listed areas were tagged as areas of concern since they have more than 10 cases of COVID-19 in their localities. 

According to him, Barangay 351 has 12 active cases and Barangay 725 has 14 active cases. On the other hand, there were 14 confirmed cases in Malate Bayview Mansion while Hop Inn Hotel has three detected cases. 

Under the EO, residents will be restricted to their homes and are not allowed to go outside.

However, Authorized Persons Outside Residence (APOR) are exempted from the order and will be allowed to leave their homes.

Undoubtedly these new lockdowns will make a lot of people mad. Or they might just sigh in exhaustion. They might be suffering from COVID-19 fatigue.

The fresh spike in COVID-19 cases is mainly being driven by “pandemic fatigue,” an expert said Wednesday.

Dr. Edsel Salvana, a molecular biologist and Department of Health (DOH) advisor, said some Filipinos have eased their adherence to health protocols due to fatigue.

The Philippines has been battling COVID-19 for over a year now, with Filipinos close to marking one year under quarantine.

"The main driver of it right now [is] the so-called 'pandemic fatigue' because people are really relaxing because they see, 'Well, everyone's out.' It’s okay, ’” Salvana said in an interview on Unang Balita.

"The virus doesn't really relax, so the transmission is continuous," he added.

The DOH similarly said the public’s relaxed observance of health protocols led to the spike in cases.

Salvana also noted that the new coronavirus variants that were recently detected in the country contributed to the case increase.

“The variant, sure, can certainly be a factor. But the percentage of variants that we see in the genomic sequencing we test is still low, about 5%, ”he said.
Again, they are blaming Filipinos for being lax about protocols as the main driver of the surge and downplaying the variants. Whatever the case surely everyone in the entire world is fatigued with this pandemic.

1 comment:

  1. This is how you orchestrate a fake pandemic, to vaccinate the masses with poison, to usher in their Great Reset/New World Order/Communist Government..

    ReplyDelete