More news about how the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines is being handled by the public and the government.
The IATF has decreed that all incoming passengers who have been fully vaccinated do not have to undergo the mandatory quarantine procedures. But DOH Secretary Duque was not informed of this decision beforehand.
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| https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/806927/duque-not-consulted-on-scrapping-of-quarantine-for-fully-vaxxed-travelers/story/ |
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III on Thursday said he was not consulted on the decision to remove the mandatory facility quarantine for fully vaccinated inbound travelers from “green” countries.
Duque is the chairperson of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), which made the decision on Wednesday.
In an interview on ANC, Duque said he has always supported the mandatory quarantine at facilities amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“I just want to put on record that I wasn’t part of the IATF that deliberated on this yesterday, because I was in a budget hearing with the Senate,” he said.
Due to this, the Health Secretary said he will raise some concerns with the IATF during their meeting on Thursday afternoon.
“I was told that in some countries, they’re doing this now. But those countries can afford to do it because their national vaccination coverage is more than 70%, whereas we are only at 30%,” Duque said.
Duque is the chairperson of the IATF but was not part of the team that made this decision? How is that even possible? It shows a complete lack of coordination within the IATF.
The NCR alert level has dropped but none of the mayors were consulted beforehand by the IATF.
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| https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/15/21/mayors-not-consulted-over-shift-to-alert-level-3-in-ncr |
Marikina Mayor Marcelino Teodoro on Friday said the capital region’s local chief executives were not consulted on the easing of quarantine restrictions in Metro Manila starting this weekend.
(No talks or meeting between the Metro Manila mayors and the IATF happened and we just received this new alert level that’s why some mayors were asking and even studying how to safely implement this new alert level system.)
Navotas Mayor Toby Tiangco said in an interview on Thursday that Metro Mayors did not recommend easing quarantine restrictions.
Government on Wednesday announced the Metro Manila’s 13 million people will shift to Alert Level 3 from October 16 to 31.
(I am in favor of this for the economy, but we need to be careful with the minimum public health standards, we should set the guidelines properly. This is what I fear that what happened last month when an announcement was made only to be withdrawn or when our low COVID cases in Metro Manila sees another increase.)
- With this government there is no need to coordinate with mayors apparently. They decide and everyone else obeys or else.
- Quarantine for 7 days upon arrival in the Philippines is mandatory for all travelers except those fully vaccinated. For one woman being quarantined turned deadly.
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| https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1910472/Bacolod/Local-News/Kin-seeks-help-on-death-of-Negrense-ROF-while-in-hotel-quarantine |
THE family of a returning overseas Filipino (ROF) from Murcia town, Negros Occidental is seeking help to shed light on her death while being under quarantine at a hotel in Makati City.Shiela Mae Hallares, 40, of Barangay Lopez Jaena, arrived in the country on October 8.Hallares, a domestic helper from Lebanon, was quarantined at Eurotel Hotel upon her arrival.Hallares’ brother, Patrolman Nico Malibong, told SunStar Bacolod that they were shocked when the dead body of his sister was found inside her hotel room Wednesday, October 13.Prior to her death, Hallares was really in good shape and was even telling them through video calls that she was joining Zumba dance while under quarantine at the hotel, Malibong said.He said they started to worry when his sister had already failed to connect to them.Malibong added that they asked the help of their cousins in Manila to check on her.The hotel staff forced open Hallares’ room and saw her body lying on the bed near the electric fan, the policeman said.He said bloodstains were noticed in the comfort room and on her bed.Hallares’ brother claimed that it is negligence on the part of the hotel as they do not check on their guests, especially that it is a quarantine facility accredited by the Department of Health and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.Hotel staff told them that their internet connection was down for two days, he said.Malibong said he believes that the last two days when they could not contact his sister would have been the time that she had gone through an unnoticed emergency.“Is this the kind of treatment they give to an OFW (overseas Filipino worker) who is supposed to be the unsung heroes in the country?” Malibong asked.
Another article gives this additional information:
“There was blood on her bed and the bathroom,” Malibong said.
They were informed that the victim died from a hemorrhagic stroke and had been dead since Oct. 11.
“The hotel staff should have been concerned when she did not eat her meals and checked on her. There was also no medical personnel at the facility,” Malibog said.
He said his sister had food allergies. Malibog said his sister asked the hospital staff to buy her medicine but was told they could not do it.
Why would there be no medical personnel at a quarantine facility. It makes no sense and this is another senseless and death that has happened during the quarantine. This woman's death will of course be forgotten and with good reason. There are more important things to think about like what goodies one can win just for getting vaccinated.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1502058/cebu-city-offers-house-car-cash-for-the-vaxxed |
To encourage more people to get inoculated against COVID-19, the city government announced it would raffle off a number of prizes for fully vaccinated residents.
The prizes include a house-and-lot package, a car, P100,000 worth of gift certificates for hotel accommodation, P100,000 worth of scholarships, and P100,000 worth of groceries, according to acting Mayor Michael Rama.
The mechanics of the raffle draw will be announced during its official launch on Oct. 18. The city government is targeting to vaccinate at least 700,000 of its 1 million residents to achieve herd immunity, which happens when 70 percent or a large part of the population is immune to a specific disease. As of Wednesday, Cebu City registered 322,063 fully vaccinated residents.
Sounds fun but whois paying for all that? In Quezon City fully vaccinated people will get full access to the malls.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1156961 |
Shoppers in Quezon City will be required to present their coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccination cards if they want to access all shops and services in malls.
Unvaccinated persons will be allowed entry but only for essential purposes such as buying in grocery and medical and drug stores, and availing of government services.
“As we want to vaccinate more people, we also directed mall managements to gather and list down the name, contact number, and barangay of unvaccinated patrons and submit it to the city government so they can immediately be scheduled for vaccination,” QC Mayor Joy Belmonte said in a statement issued Sunday night.
The slippery slope is indeed real and it is not wrong to see this as a precedent that will soon trickle down so that the unvaccinated will be barred from participating in society.
According to the DOH 12,970 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been discarded due to temperature and other issues. Meanwhile in Cebu a private hospital is conducting clinical trials for a Chinese made vaccine apparently without FDA approval or the knowledge of the city.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1156942 |
Acting Mayor Michael Rama on Monday reminded medical centers here conducting a clinical trial for any coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccine brand to properly coordinate with the city government.
Rama said in a radio interview any medical researches that are conducted in the city must be “well coordinated” with the health officials as well as local medical experts to avoid concerns on missteps in the conduct of trials.
“They need to connect with the Cebu City Health Department before they conduct medical trials in our jurisdiction. We have the Local Government Code which said that no project could be implemented with the mayor and the City Council not being aware about it,” Rama said in a mix of Cebuano and English.
Rama’s comment came after reports circulated on local media that a private hospital here is conducting a clinical trial for Covid-19 vaccine manufactured by a Chinese pharmaceutical company, WestVac Biopharma R&D.
Councilor David Tumulak also raised concerns in his privilege speech before the City Council on Wednesday (Oct. 13) over the clinical trial and urged the Food and Drug Administration, Department of Health (DOH), and the city health department to investigate the matter
However, Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, DOH-7 chief pathologist, said in an earlier interview the conduct of clinical trial for the WestVac vaccine was properly coordinated with the office of Mayor Edgardo Labella.
Loreche said the pharmaceutical firm has secured a permit from the Ethics Board of the Department of Health and the proposal to conduct a clinical trial was submitted to the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development.
Why are clinical trials happening in the Philippines for a Chinese pharmaceutical company? Are there no Chinese guinea pigs available?
While citizens of the NCR have been relishing their new found freedom since the alert level was lifted the PNP says they will be deploying more cops to enforce health protocols.
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| https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/10/19/2135228/more-cops-be-sent-out-enforce-pandemic-protocols-public-areas |
The chief of the Philippine National Police ordered all unit commanders in Metro Manila to send more police officers to areas where the public will be as Metro Manila shifts to Alert Level 3, a looser form of quarantine against COVID-19.
In a statement, Police Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said he issued the order in response to an appeal by the Department of Health to continue implementing the minimum public health safety protocols.
The DOH issued the reminder after people started flocking to churches, malls, parks, and other areas over the weekend because of the lower alert status.
Police data shows that from Saturday to Sunday, 5,606 Filipinos were fined for violations of minimum public health standards, while 7,867 were warned.
"I have already directed our unit commanders in the National Capital Region to increase police presence in all possible areas of destination of our countrymen following the downgrading of alert level in Metro Manila," said Eleazar, who added that the order came from Interior Secretary Eduardo Año.
"We understand the concern of our colleagues in the Department of Health and the medical community regarding the reports that have been shown where people flocked to sights, malls and other places last weekend," he added.
The past 581 days of community quarantines have seen government officials loosening quarantine protocols to revive the economy, followed by enforcement officials labeling people who go out or find themselves in crowded areas as hard-headed.
According to Eleazar, health officials expressed concerns over what they describe as an apparent complacency on the part of the people when they go out of their homes "to take advantage of the easing of restrictions."
You can't blame people for wanting to stretch their legs after being forced to stay home for so long. Knowing the PNP there will be plenty of extortion and violence in the name of enforcing health protocols.
OFWs may seem to be a blessing to the economy because they remit millions of pesos each year. But it is also a brain drain leaving the Philippines diminished of the manpower it needs.
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| https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/news/10/19/21/hospitals-fear-manpower-drain-after-staff-resignations |
A group of private hospitals said on Tuesday it is concerned with a possible shortage of manpower as scores of staff resigned to pursue jobs abroad.
In the past 2 to 3 weeks, about 5 percent of nurses filed resignations because they wanted to work abroad, said Private Hospital Association of the Philippines, Inc. president Dr. Jose Rene de Grano.
(If we cannot stop this exodus, perhaps in another 6 months, we might run out of nurses and our health facilities will be crippled.)
(That is what we fear because if we are too lenient with letting our healthcare workers leave and we fail to replace them quickly, we might run out of healthcare workers. Our acceptance of patience will be limited.)
Some health workers earlier complained of low pay and poor working conditions.
On Sunday, Dr. Maricar Limpin, president of the Philippine College of Physicians, acknowledged that some health workers avail of job opportunities abroad because of the attractive pay.
(If we can increase the basic pay of our nurses, they might have second thoughts about leaving the country, because they will feel that with a salary higher than the current rate although not really at par with what's offered abroad, it's better to stay here and be with their families.)
(But if the difference between the salary here and abroad remains wide, then we'll really have a hard time keeping our nurses here. We have to accept that they will really get much higher pay abroad, and it's also really different if they get the chance of working in foreign hospitals, especially in the UK and the US.)
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1157037 |
The Covid-19 situation in the National Capital Region (NCR) continues to improve based on the latest data of the OCTA Research Group.
In a tweet on Monday, OCTA Research Group’s Guido David said NCR's seven-day average is 1,448 with a positivity rate of 9 percent, down by 1 percent from the previous data.
OCTA also observed a continuous downtrend in NCR's healthcare utilization rate (HCUR) and intensive care unit utilization rate (ICUR).
"The region's reproduction number is at 0.57 while healthcare utilization rate is at 44 percent and ICU occupancy is at 59 percent,” Guido said.
The previous data was 47 percent HCUR while the ICUR was also at 59 percent.
He added that NCR's current average daily attack rate, or the number of individuals infected per 100,000 population, dipped to 10.23 cases from the previous 11.87.
So says the OCTA anyway. But they don't matter much. It's the IATF whose word is gospel concerning all things COVID-19.
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