More news about how the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines is being handled by the public and the government.
Bivalent vaccines have been ordered by the DOH but have been delayed. Now the DOH is seeking legal remedies to address the delay.
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| https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/22/23/doh-eyes-legal-remedies-for-covax-bivalent-donation |
The Department of Health is looking at legal remedies to enter into an agreement with COVAX facility regarding the delivery of bivalent COVID-19 vaccines.
According to DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire, immunity from liability and indemnification clauses are required by the United Nations-backed international vaccine-sharing scheme.
These conditions are declared in the country's state of calamity for COVID-19, which expired on December 31.
In a press briefing Tuesday, Vergeire said the DOH had coordinated with the Office of the President through the Office of the Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs, Department of Justice and Office of the Solicitor General.
"We have had several meetings for this past week so that we can be able to find that meeting point kung ano 'yung puwedeng maging option because wala nga tayong pinagbabasehan na mga naka-state sa agreements as to immunity from liability and indemnification," she told reporters.
This has resulted in the delay of the arrival of bivalent vaccines despite several countries already signifying their intention to donate the new jabs, which target the globally dominant omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2.
“We had a meeting with COVAX and GAVI and still expressed our interest na tayo ay willing to receive as long as bigyan lang tayo ng panahon para ayusin ang legal remedies na puwede sa atin so we can enter into specific contracts na nire-require ng COVAX facility," Vergeire said.
The DOH previously announced it was expecting over a million doses of the new vaccines to arrive in the country this month. Those belonging to the vulnerable population like healthcare workers and senior citizens are prioritized to receive the first batch of bivalent jabs.
But even if more doses of the new vaccines eventually make it to the Philippines, Vergeire explained they would only be given to those who have received the primary series of a monovalent vaccine.
- How many of those vaccine will go to waste because too many people don't want to be vaccinated?
COVID cases are up slightly but hospitalization rates remain low because not many are critical or severe cases.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1198057 |
The 19 percent increase in Covid-19 cases in the recent week should not be a cause for alarm, a health expert said Thursday.
In a televised public briefing, infectious disease expert Dr. Edsel Salvaña said the healthcare utilization rate, which remains 20 percent nationwide, is more important than the number of new infections as it indicates the country’s capability to admit severe and critical cases.
Earlier, the Department of Health reported daily infections increased to 167 in the recent week (March 13 to 19) from last week’s 140 infections from Mar 5 to 12.
It also reported 1,171 new cases and 63 verified deaths for the recent week.
“I don’t think it’s a cause for alarm, iyong number of cases, kasi titingnan naman natin araw-araw (the number of cases, what we’re looking at is daily) it’s still below 200 per day, and even the active cases have been below 10,000 for the longest time now,” he said.
As for the mask mandate, Salvaña clarified that it is voluntary except in hospitals and public transport where physical distancing is not observed.
“In hospitals, we’re not just looking at Covid but also flu and other respiratory illnesses where use of masks can help,” he said.
Salvaña also noted that Filipinos are more selective and smarter regarding facemask wearing as they get used to increased mobility.
“In fact, more people are going out right now and the cases will remain low – so, I think slowly Covid is becoming endemic."
Yes everyone knows COVID is becoming endemic and will never be eradicated. It will also continue to have a low death rate unless combined with comorbidites like obesity and other diseases. The DOH confirmed this assessment by Dr. Edsel Salvaña.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1748945/covid-19-cases-still-going-up-but-hospital-admissions-low |
Detected COVID-19 cases continue to go up although hospital admissions remain low, the Department of Health (DOH) said on Monday.
In the past week, there were 185 COVID-19 cases reported daily, 11 percent higher compared to the 167 daily cases reported in the week before.
Of the 1,298 new confirmed infections last week, 10 were in serious or critical condition.
According to the DOH COVID-19 bulletin, 307 out of the nearly 3,000 admitted COVID-19 patients were in severe or critical condition.
The confined patients comprised around 34 percent of 8,626 individuals still infected with the virus as of March 26.
The healthcare utilization rate, however, remains at a safe level, with 14 percent of COVID-19 intensive care unit (ICU) beds and 16.5 percent of non-ICU beds occupied.
The DOH also confirmed an additional 60 deaths due to the coronavirus though most of them occurred months ago.
This brought the country’s official COVID-19 death toll to 66,342 out of about four million confirmed cases since the pandemic began three years ago.
Last week, the country recorded its biggest hike in infections in recent weeks although a health expert said it was likely due to a backlog in cases.
It would appear that there is no real increase in cases but that the DOH is only just now releasing old data.
Cruise tourism is set to return to Ilocos Norte.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1198053 |
Travel operators can look forward to welcoming more visitors in Ilocos Norte province as the Department of Tourism (DOT) started talks with cruise line operators to once again consider stopping by this northern gateway of Luzon.
"Talks are underway between cruise line operators and the DOT for their return at the ports of Currimao and a nearby private seaport of Omnico Resources Inc. in Badoc, Ilocos Norte,” said Xavier Ruiz, officer-in-charge of the Ilocos Norte Tourism Office.
For 2023, the DOT is expecting a total of 139 port calls at 46 destinations in the country. The figure is higher than the 102 port calls in 2019.
In pre-pandemic times, cruise tourism emerged as a sunrise industry in Ilocos Region as the Ilocos Norte ports became major ports of calls for international cruise ships.
Earlier this year, the Silversea Cruises's Silver Spirit, carrying about 500 passengers, docked at the Salomague Port in Cabugao town, Ilocos Sur province. It was the first international cruise ship that arrived at the Ilocos port in three years since the pandemic began.
As part of the government’s economic recovery plans, both the Salomague port in Ilocos Sur and the Currimao port in Ilocos Norte were upgraded in 2021 to increase cruise calls in the region, which is strategically located near the popular beaches and heritage sites of the Ilocos Region.
With the continuing expansion of the Vigan Airport and the Laoag International Airport, as well as the road widening projects, local authorities expressed confidence that the improved port will entice more visitors and help spur economic recovery in the region.
Slowly but surely the tourism industry is recovering.
Guimaras' Mango Festival will return after a three year hiatus due to the pandemic.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2023/3/27/guimaras-prepares-for-return-of-manggahan-festival |
The island-province of Guimaras is preparing for the face-to-face comeback of the festival that highlights its most abundant and well-loved resource – the mango.
The provincial government under Gov. JC Rahman Nava announced the return of the Manggahan Festival after a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic.
The 2023 edition is the first full-blast celebration in three years. The past two iterations were scaled down and had only minor activities such as the agri-trade fair.
In 2022, the provincial government limited visitors of the Manggahan Festival to residents of Western Visayas region. Non-residents of Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Iloilo, and Negros Occidental as well as the highly urbanized cities of Iloilo and Bacolod were not allowed as Guimaras had strict protocols for visitors entering the island-province.
This year will have a dance cultural contest among the five towns – Buenavista, Jordan, Nueva Valencia, San Lorenzo, and Sibunag – depicting the abundance of mangoes and the rich fishing community in the island-province.
This was the major event that was not held during the past three years of the pandemic.
Another in a long line of events returning after the lockdown.
A survey shows that just 10% of Pinoys do not approve of face masks.
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| https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/865229/91-of-pinoys-approve-of-voluntary-wearing-of-face-masks-but-still-prefer-to-use-them-outdoors/story/ |
A large majority of adult Filipinos approve of the executive order allowing voluntary wearing of face masks, but most of them prefer to continue wearing masks, according to the results of the Fourth Quarter 2022 Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey.
Among adult Filipinos, 91% approve of the directive issued on Oct. 28, 2022 by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
The directive refers to Executive Order No. 7, "Allowing voluntary wearing of face masks in indoor and outdoor settings, reiterating the continued implementation of minimum public health standards during the State of Public Health Emergency relative to the COVID-19 Pandemic."
Meanwhile, 54% say they will always use a face mask when leaving the house.
On Total Filipino Household heads, 91% agree with the voluntary wearing of face masks for children in face-to-face classes.
According to the data on Total Households with children attending face-to-face classes, 81% or 4 of 5 households say they will always make their child wear a face mask when going to school. Below is the breakdown of respondents' reactions.
Despite face mask offering little to no protection from COVID or any other virus the majority of the population wants to continue to keep wearing them. But another survey shows that 69% of the unvaccinated wish to remain unvaccinated. Strange and conflicting opinions indeed.
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