More news about how the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines is being handled by the public and the government.
Last week a few Senators proposed shutting down the One health Pass which all travelers have been required to use to prove they have been vaccinated. Now low budget airlines are also backing this proposal.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1185995 |
Low-cost airlines AirAsia Philippines and Cebu Pacific (CEB) are backing calls to scrap the One Health Pass (OHP), saying some alternatives may be considered.
"As we head towards a strong air travel rebound, our passengers deserve a more convenient, reliable and hassle-free customer journey without sacrificing the safety net in our day-to-day operations," AirAsia spokesperson Steve Dailisan told the Philippine News Agency.Senator Nancy Binay on Monday called on the lifting of the OHP, citing this has become impractical and inconvenient for many.Passengers bound for the Philippines are required to register to the OHP, which Binay said has been a hassle to many returning Filipinos and overseas workers because this only adds to the screening procedures even if they are already quarantine-cleared and fully vaccinated with boosters.The senator said overseas Filipino workers have been complaining that the process of verifying the OHP has led to long lines in the country's airports.This was also observed by Carmina Romero of CEB. "Usually, there is a line of passengers who are unaware of the OHP, in check-in counters in our international destinations. I am sure they were sent an email about (OHP registration), but some passengers don't read notifications," she said.Romero noted that OHP registration is also not easy for many, especially foreign travelers."It is not easy for them to tick the boxes about specific details of their destination in the Philippines, such as which National Capital Region district, which barangay. A foreign national usually has a hard time answering that,” she said.She said without the OHP, a foreigner could instead be made to fill out an arrival card before landing. A returning Filipino, on the other hand, needs to prove that he or she is fully vaccinated or boosted against Covid-19."Maybe we should start considering these too," Romero said.Dailisan, meanwhile, said AirAsia supports initiatives that will enable seamless travel among its guests, such as a unified electronic arrival card system that is customer friendly and accessible for arriving passengers.
Even the DOH is planning to review the "cumbersome" online requirements for travelers.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1679200/doh-to-review-cumbersome-online-screening-for-travelers |
The Department of Health (DOH) has instructed the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) to review the content of One Health Pass (OHP), an online screening system for international travelers, amid calls from a senator to lift its implementation.
In a press conference on Tuesday, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, the officer in charge of the DOH, said the long list of details being required by the OHP can be “inconvenient” to passengers.
“When we reviewed the content of OHP, we saw that too many details were being required of our passengers,” said Vergeire. “Aside from submitting the requirements online, international travelers still have to go through the BOQ validation in our airports, which has caused long lines and delays.”
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian had also called the OHP system “cumbersome and an added red tape especially to tourists and foreign business people” who are planning to visit the country, and thus “should be scrapped immediately.”
Vergeire said the DOH would meet with other implementing agencies, including the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Department of Tourism, on Thursday to discuss how to “further streamline the process” and make it more convenient.
Starting in September 2021, the BOQ and the DOTr-One Stop Shop have required the OHP as a way to process the mandatory health protocols and quarantine requirements of international travelers from their departure at their point of origin to their arrival and other onward destinations in the Philippines.
According to the OHP website, international inbound travelers are required to register on the system at least two days prior to their arrival in the Philippines. Proof of OHP registration will then be checked prior to flight boarding.
The two-page online questionnaire asks for their flight details, personal profile, and health and vaccination status. It also asks for the passenger’s occupation, the purpose of the visit, PhilHealth number, and residence details.
A personal QR code will then be issued to successful registrants. The code will be checked twice: during flight onboarding and upon arrival at the airport.
If it is cumbersome now it was cumbersome then. These protocols should never have been put into place. They inhibit travel by making it rather burdensome by having to jump through so many hoops. Hopefully these barriers will be removed completely in the near future as the pandemic winds down and the world returns to normal.
Quezon City has received an international award for its efficient COVID response.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1185986 |
The Quezon City government has been given the "Circle of Excellence" award, along with five other cities in the world, for its effective response to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
Mayor Joy Belmonte personally received the award from the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (IAPAC) during the Fast-Track Cities 2022 conference in Sevilla, Spain.
"We dedicate this award to our healthcare workers and other front-liners who have put their lives on the line to address the needs of QCitizens during the pandemic,” Belmonte said in a statement on Wednesday.
“This is a validation of their hard work and the effectiveness of our Covid-19 response, especially in the delivery of basic services to the people,” she added.
Quezon City was selected by the IAPAC and the Fast-Track Cities Institute (FTCi) after a rigorous nomination and deliberation process in consultation with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).
The cities of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, New York in the United States, Kingston in Jamaica, Johannesburg in South Africa, and Lagos in Nigeria received the same award.
Good for them.
Many Filipinos have been dipping into their savings to pay for health costs during the pandemic.
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| https://www.philstar.com/business/2022/10/14/2216657/amid-pandemic-more-filipinos-are-dipping-their-savings-stay-healthy |
Over two years into the coronavirus pandemic and its economic onslaught, more Filipinos are forced to dip into their own savings to shoulder rising health costs in the country, as government support to keep its citizens healthy comes up short.
Health spending reached P1.09 trillion in 2021, up 18.5% year-on-year, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported Friday.
Of that amount, 41.5% or P451 billion was paid out of households’ pockets. Data showed families’ out-of-pocket spending on health grew 9.2% year-on-year in 2021, higher than 4.1% annual growth rate recorded in 2020.
The latest report reinforces previous data which showed that overall, Filipinos regardless of age are spending more and more out of their own earnings to remain healthy.
This, while state spending on health slowed 16.1% on-year to P411.7 billion in 2021. Of the country’s total health expenditure, government support that came from its domestic revenues accounted for 37.9%.
Amid the pandemic, data showed P112.4 billion was spent on treatment of illnesses that now correlate with severe or critical cases of COVID-19. The figure was up 362.5% year-on-year and accounts for 10.3% of the country’s health spending in 2021, from just 2.7% in 2020.
The problem gets worse if one would consider the Philippines’ old population. With most senior citizens likely retired, chances are ballooning health expenses are exhausting their life savings, forcing them to rely on their families for support.
This problem affects senior citizens more than others as they are forced to exhaust what savings they have. Another thing affecting senior citizens is Undas. One Cebu City councilor wants to make sure unvaccinated seniors citizens can visit the cemeteries this year.
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| https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/469178/zafra-allow-unvaccinated-senior-citizens-to-visit-cemeteries-for-undas |
The Cebu City government is not keen on restricting senior citizens from entering or visiting public cemeteries for the Undas 2023.
Cebu City Councilor Philip Zafra, chairman of the Committee on Public Order, on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022, said they had not recommended to Mayor Michael Rama to disallow unvaccinated senior citizens from visiting public cemeteries during the occasion.
(No. What we are saying is there are a lot of vaccinated people in Cebu City unlike the other areas.)
(The template that we are adopting is the template prior to COVID times. That is what we are applying now.)
While Cebu City claims to have more vaccinated people than in other areas Northern Mindanao admits they have failed to reach their vaccination goals.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2022/10/13/doh-northern-mindanao-admits-it-fell-short-in-vaccination-target/ |
The Department of Health Region 10 admitted it failed to meet a certain target to vaccinate people against Covid-19 within the 100-day period set by President Marcos Jr.
Dr. Ellenietta Gamolo, the DOH-10 assistant director, said in a phone interview on Thursday, Oct. 13, that the region (Northern Mindanao) has only achieved 74.27 percent vaccination coverage for senior citizens and 24.31 percent coverage for the first booster vaccination for the general population as of October 12.
The 100-day Presidential directive actually ended on Saturday, Oct. 8.
Under the presidential directives, the National Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC) has been tasked to ensure all units of DOH, including the local government units (LGUs) and other stakeholders to reach the 90 percent coverage for the primary series among all A2 (Senior Citizen) category and 50 percent coverage for the first booster dose vaccination for the general population within the first 100 days of the Marcos Jr. administration.
Out of the five provinces and two highly urbanized cities in the region, only the province of Camiguin and Iligan City achieved the 90 percent target for the senior citizens, with 91.61 percent and 90.59 percent coverage respectively.
For the 50 percent coverage for the first booster dose vaccination, only Camiguin province was able to hit the target with 50.47 percent coverage.
However, Gamolo said that DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire has lowered down the target for the first booster dose vaccination to 30 percent on October 8, as many LGUs are unable to achieve the original target due to some intervening factors.
“All LGUs are doing their best to achieve the target because of the instructions, once they reach that, there might be a little changes to our health protocols as there are a lot of people who are already vaccinated,” Gamolo said in vernacular.
Funny that they have to lower the target rate because many LGUs are unable to meet the original targets.
Once again the public is being told that the virus is on the way to becoming endemic.
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| https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/10/14/2216516/philippines-may-be-nearing-covid-19-endemic-stage |
An infectious diseases expert said that the country could be nearing the COVID-19 endemic stage as cases are now on a downward trend and severe and critical infections remain low.
“If you look at the cases, even globally, cases are already trending down, which means that the number of cases for the past week is stable. There is no significant increase although there is also no significant decrease but it is trending down to the point that it looks like it is becoming stable,” Dr. Rontgene Solante told “The Chiefs” on Cignal TV’s One News the other night.
Solante, head for Adult Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine at the San Lazaro Hospital, also noted that the country’s health care utilization rate continues to be stable at less than 50 percent.
“That is the situation for almost two to three months now,” he said of the hospitalization rate for COVID-19.
“What we use as basis is that if we are able to manage the infection, or if it is already controlled. So most likely, we are already on the brink of that (endemicity),” he added.
The medical expert explained: “When you say endemic, the virus is still here with us but is not able to disrupt our livelihood, our mobility and we are able to control where we are headed – is it towards cases going up, or becoming stable, or on a downward trend.”
However, Solante said the country still needs to strengthen its health protocols, including intensifying efforts for vaccination before endemicity sets in.
It's funny because the DOH already said COVID-19 was becoming endemic back in April.
Since face to face classes have started the DOH says there has been no uptick of COVID in schools.
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| https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/11/22/no-covid-uptick-among-kids-since-school-opening-doh |
The Department of Health (DOH) said Tuesday it has not recorded an uptick of COVID-19 cases among the pediatric population since Aug. 22, the start of School Year 2022-2023 that saw a widespread resumption of in-person classes.
Health Undersecretary Beverly So said the DOH remained supportive of in-person classes but also recognizes that COVID-19 cases would be present due to increased mobility.
"Categorically speaking, when we are looking at the trends for pediatric population since Aug. 22, we didn't really see an uptick," Ho said in a press conference.
"But what is important for all of us is to recognize 2 things: one is klaro sa amin (it's clear to us) that the face-to-face learning is superior, not just for education but for the health, holistic development ng mga bata. So we're very supportive of that," she said.
"Second is we need to recognize that as we go out of our houses, magkaka-uptick tayo (we will have an uptick). It's just a matter of time. But we want to reassure everyone, that's why we have technologies like vaccines."
Ho added that hospital admission rates have not increased.
(The more we go full blast face-to-face, it will really go up. What we don't want is the number of cases increasing alongside the hospital admission. But if the cases increase and hospital admission did not, we've done our job. We've protected ourselves enough from vaccines.)
There is no uptick but it's just a matter of time. They really can't help themselves with the fear mongering.
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