More news about how the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines is being handled by the public and the government.
There is no denying that the Philippines lags behind in a lot of areas. So, it's surprising to learn that now there are now robot nurses in the Philippines.
A remote-controlled robot called Logistics Indoor Service Assistant (LISA), which can deliver medicine to patients, will soon be joining front-liners in attending to coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) patients here.
The robot, a donation from the batch 1968 alumni of the Kalibo Pilot Elementary School, was turned over to the local government unit on April 20, 2021.
Basil Tabernilla, Executive Assistant II to Kalibo Mayor Emerson Lachica, said on Wednesday they are "fortunate to have been given a unit of LISA robot made by experts of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) even though only a few have been produced by them”.
“The officers and members of the Kalibo Pilot Elementary School Batch 1968 worked together to request the said robot from UST and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST),” he said in an interview.
LISA is a robot designed in the United States but assembled locally.
Its base is like a toy car with a metal pole attached to it. At the upper portion of the pole is a small tray where the medicine can be placed.
“It is (a) remote-controlled robot and can be directed by the handler to the patients, preventing direct contact with the patients,” Tabernilla said.
Equipped with a 12-volt battery that can last up to eight hours, it can carry medications and other supplies to the patient and help in the conduct of disinfection from time to time, he added.
With this, the exposure of the nurses will be minimized, also reducing the risk of contracting the disease, he said.
Here is what it looks like:
It appears they have
been upgraded a bit since this picture
was taken last year but that does not change the purpose of these machines which is to limit human contact
. When people
need human contact the most those in charge are doing all they can to prevent
it from happening.One cabinet official is persuading Filipinos to try virgin coconut oil (VCO) instead of ivermectin.
Virgin coconut oil has been proven effective against COVID-19 and is readily available in the market, a Cabinet official on Friday told those considering the use of anti-parasite drug ivermectin.
Ivermectin's clinical trial could run for around 6 months. On the other hand, a completed clinical trial showed that VCO can reduce the symptoms of probable and suspect COVID-19 cases, said Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles.
Scientists are also studying the use of VCO for moderate and severe COVID-19 cases, and the efficacy of traditional herbs tawa-tawa and lagundi to treat patients with the novel coronavirus, he said.
(These are supplements that are already readily available in the market. I personally feel that at least, the clinical trial of VCO is finished, it has green light from the Food and Drug Administration. We'll also be helping our coconut farmers.)
Anything is better than a vaccine which does not actually prevent you from contracting the virus as we have seen in many cases. It is also not likely one will die after taking VCO.
The country’s Food and Drug Administration reported Friday that 24 people died out of over one million individuals who got vaccinated against COVID-19, but it stressed that most of them had pre-existing illnesses.
In a briefing, FDA Director General Eric Domingo said that 19 of the reported deaths are coincidental or unrelated to vaccination.
“Most of them are not related to vaccination, and definitely, vaccination benefits outweigh the risks,” FDA Director General Eric Domingo said in a briefing.
Of the 24 deaths, 11 contracted COVID-19. According to the US Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention, it typically takes two weeks after a person is fully vaccinated for the body to build protection or immunity against SARS-CoV-2, or the virus that causes COVID-19.
Eight of the reported deaths after inoculation had cardiovascular or cerebrovascular illness, and three died from other infectious disease. Two cases, meanwhile, are pending review.
You know its funny that they are stressing that those who died at pre-existing illnesses. How many who died from COVID-19 had pre-existing illnesses compared to those who died from COVID-19 alone? The statistics say about 6% die from COVID-19 alone but the authorities don't want to stress that.
People have picked up various hobbies during the lockdown. One boy began "postcrossing."
Carlos Inigo Roxas, a Grade 5 student of the University of Santo Tomas’ Angelicum College, started out as a stamp collector. Other collectors told him he’d be able to gather more stamps by going into postcrossing.
By January 2020, he was fully engaged in this new pastime.
Postcrossing involves making and mailing postcards, receiving postcards in return, or swapping them with other people.
The thrilling part of it, Roxas says, is getting something unexpected along with the postcards, such as handwritten letters, tea bags, even foreign currencies.
“[There’s] the excitement when the mailman approaches your house and hands you the mail, or when you’re reading the message, knowing who [sent it], and where it came from,” he says.
For Roxas, the postcard featuring pandemic front-liners is his most favorite. To get it, he says, one donates P50, which will be spent to buy a food pack for a front-liner.
“It’s not just about the postcard anymore; it’s already about helping others,” he says.
The message at the back of the front-liner postcard reads: “Please realize that you made a difference in someone’s life today”—a reminder that the boy finds inspiring.
Roxas mails postcards to his friends and relatives here and abroad, and even to strangers on the other side of the globe.
Because of the lockdown, it is his parents who drop off his postcards at the post office. He says they are very supportive of his hobby.
It's amazing he is bale to enjoy such a hobby when the postal system in the Philippines is abysmally slow.
Did you take the vaccine yet? If the answer is no you might soon be a criminal if one politician gets his way.
A bill mandating the COVID-19 vaccination in the Philippines has been filed in the House of Representatives.
Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. filed House Bill No. 9252, which seeks to amend the COVID-19 Vaccination Program Act of 2021 to make mandatory the inoculation of individuals “as may be determined” by the Department of Health (DOH).
Under the bill, the vaccination of these individuals shall be given for free at any government hospital or health center provided that “inoculation must, at all times, be science and evidence based.”
“[A] mass COVID-19 vaccination program in the Philippines, to as much percentage of the population is needed. This can only be achieved by enacting legislation to mandate and promote COVID-19 vaccination, address vaccine hesitancy and instill public confidence in the personal, family and community benefits of immunization,” Barzaga said in the bill’s explanatory note.
“It will be tragic if we have safe and effective vaccines available but people refuse to take them,” he added.
The measure, however, exempts “persons with medical conditions” as determined by the DOH or by a licensed medical doctor.
“Medical doctors shall have the discretion, subject to disciplinary action by the Philippine Medical Association, to determine whether a person should get a medical exemption,” according to the bill.
No word on what the penalty will be for refusing a vaccine. Also never mind the fact that there are not enough vaccines in the country at the present moment and likely not for a long time.
The Philippines has finally logged a million cases of COVID-19. The Palace says this number is not a "negative reflection" of the government's response.
Malacañang on Monday said the country’s Covid-19 infections hitting 1 million mark is not “negative reflection” of the government’s pandemic response.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque maintained that the government is doing a good job preventing the spread of new virus strains in the country.
“I don’t think it is a negative reflection…We are managing still the new variants rather well,” he said in a virtual press briefing.
On Monday, the Department of Health (DOH) reported 8,929 new cases, increasing the country’s total confirmed Covid-19 infections to 1,006,428. It also logged 11,333 recoveries and 70 deaths, bringing the recovery tally to 914,952 and the death toll to 16,853.
Instead of looking at the country’s total Covid-19 cases, Roque said the best indicator on whether the country is successful in its response is by looking at Covid-19 recoveries.
“(Don’t just look at the nearly 1 million cases. First, around 900,000 have recovered…If you compare it to other countries, our ranking is much lower which means our ranking improved),” he said.
Roque said the Philippines currently ranks 26th in the world in terms of total Covid-19 infections based on data from Johns Hopkins and the World Health Organization (WHO) Covid-19 Dashboard.
He also explained that an increase in Covid-19 cases cannot be avoided amid new virus strains and limited vaccine supply.
“(This increase in numbers is not unique to the Philippines. But our lower ranking is proof that there are more cases in other countries),” he added.
Roque is right. This is not a "negative reflection" on the government's response. It is the logical outcome of it's response. How odd he says we should focus on the 900,000 who have recovered. That means only 10% of those infected have died. How is that a dire pandemic worth shutting down the entire economy?
The Palace says a lot of strange things regarding the pandemic.
President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday said health and essential frontliners during the COVID-19 pandemic are "worthy heirs of Lapu-Lapu’s legacy," as the Philippines marked 500 years since the datu’s defeat of Spanish colonial threat.
Lapu-Lapu and warriors of Mactan island on April 27, 1521 defeated western firepower and Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who began the supposed first trip around the globe.
Mactan's warriors "never cowered against the might of the enemy and they bled in defense of their homeland," said Duterte.
"Today, we remember their gallantry by honoring the worthy heirs of Lapu-Lapu’s legacy: our medical and essential frontliners, who in face of danger caused by the COVID-19 pandemic continue to risk their lives, their own lives to ensure for the safety of their fellow Filipinos," the President said in a pre-recorded speech.
"Let us draw inspiration from the heroes of the past and present as we overcome pandemic and rebuild a stronger and more resilient nation," he added.
This is funny because Lapu-Lapu's claim to fame is killing a foreigner, Magellan. But front liners are fighting a foreign virus which has its origins and China. Yet if you dare say that out loud you will be shunned. Even Duterte did not want to admit it in the early days of the pandemic as he refused to ban flights from China which exacerbated the spread.
If you were concerned that getting the vaccine during Ramadan would violate the fast then rest easy.
Getting the COVID-19 vaccine does not invalidate one’s fasting and observance of the Holy month of Ramadan, a health official said Wednesday.
The COVID jab is important to protect not only one’s self but other people as well, said Dr. Bashari Latiph, health minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
(It does not violate the observance of Ramadan because it is not for enhancement. There was a religious guidance or advisory saying it does not invalidate the observance of fasting during Ramadan.)
A religious guideline dated March 6 from the Office of the Mufti and Executive Director said it “sees that vaccine for healing and preventing measure, in general, is lawful (Halal) on the basis of the verse of the Glorious Quran.”
Good news if you are a Muslim. Even better news is that 91.3% of all cases have resulted in recovery!
An additional 10,109 patients have beaten the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), pushing the country's overall recovery count to 925,027 on Tuesday.
In its case bulletin, the Department of Health (DOH) said those who have beaten the illness account for 91.3 percent of the Philippines' total case tally which has reached 1,013,618.
The agency also reported 7,204 new confirmed cases and 63 new deaths.
These figures bring the overall tally of active cases to 71,675 and the death toll to 16,916.
The DOH said about 95.2 percent of the active cases are mild, 1.5 percent are asymptomatic, 1.3 percent are severe, 0.90 percent are moderate, and 1.1 percent are in critical condition.
"There were 14 duplicates removed from the total case count as eight of these are recoveries. Moreover, 64 cases previously tagged as recovered were reclassified as deaths after final validation,” it said.
DOH data on April 25 showed that 15.8 percent of 39,941 who were tested turned out positive for Covid-19.
These numbers are a revelation. They reveal that this so-called pandemic is hardly a pandemic and that the virus is not as deadly as it is being made out to be. Can we now have some commonsense policy based on this data? It is time to end the needless lockdowns and quarantines and silly health protocols.
