More news about how the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines is being handled by the public and the government.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1743198/miaa-directive-wearing-of-face-mask-now-optional-at-naia |
The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) announced on Wednesday that wearing a face mask at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) is now optional.
According to MIAA in an advisory, the optional use of face-mask is following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s Executive Order No. 7, which allowed the voluntary use of face masks in indoor and outdoor settings.
“The wearing of face masks at the Naia terminals is now optional in accordance with Executive Order No. 7 (s. 2022),” the MIAA said.
“Face masks are still required to be worn inside the aircraft and airside passenger vehicles,” it added.
The announcement came more than a week after the Department of Tourism eased up its COVID-19 health directives in tourism establishments, no longer requiring the wearing face masks and vaccination cards.
However, it can be recalled that despite the “plateauing” number of COVID-19 infections in the country, the Department of Health said that it continues to keep a close eye on COVID-19 cases, especially severe or severe or critical infections, as well as deaths.
A bit late aren't they? Executive Order 7 was issued on October 28th, 2022.
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| https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2023/03/17/2252302/sws-69-95m-unvaccinated-filipinos-unwilling-get-covid-19-shot |
A survey conducted in December 2022 by private pollster Social Weather Stations revealed that 69% of the estimated 9.5 million adult Filipinos who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 still refuse to get the shot.
Only 12% of unvaccinated adults are willing to get the vaccine, some 50 million to up to over 60 million doses of which are expiring this month, according to testimony by the Department of Health during a Senate hearing last week.
The SWS said 57% of adults or 41.14 million are fully vaccinated, while 6% or 4.4 million have only received the first dose of the shot. Of them, 44% said they are unwilling to get a booster dose, while 32% said they are fine with getting it.
The pollster said 17% of adults or 12.4 million have received their third shot or the first booster, while 6% or 4.3 million got the fourth dose or the second booster. Of those who have received their first booster, 55% said they are willing to get another shot, while 32% said they are unwilling.
The SWS conducted the survey through face-to-face interviews of 1,200 Filipinos aged 18 and above. It did not say whether their survey staff asked for proof of vaccination during the interviews.
Looks like their minds are made up.
Church has been back in session for months now but it appears some of the faithful prefer to watch the livestream.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1197603 |
The Archdiocese of Manila called on the faithful to return to the churches and join in the holy celebration, especially every Sunday.
Manila Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula also urged parishes to focus the catechism on the importance of physical attendance at the celebration of the Eucharist.
"The constant catechesis on the necessity of our faithful to return to our churches for the Sunday Eucharist should be explained in our homilies and in our catechesis," he said in a circular issued on Friday.
The archbishop also encouraged limiting the live-streaming of Masses, especially on Sundays, to encourage the faithful to go to the churches.
Advincula has reminded the servants of the church that the prayer of the “Act of Spiritual Communion” is only for those who participated in the online mass and not for the community inside the church.
The guidelines also include maintaining a safety protocol within the churches to ensure the health safety of the faithful, especially the eucharistic ministers who will share the Holy Communion.
In October last year, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) enjoined the faithful to physically attend Mass in parishes at the same time as the government relaxed the rules related to the pandemic.
Churches were closed to the public for almost three years to prevent large-scale gatherings as a measure against the spread of the virus.
At the same time, Advincula has allowed the placing of holy water on the doors of the church that can be used by the faithful.
"The holy water font, which has been emptied during the pandemic, can now be used after the Easter Vigil," he said.
It's hard to break bad habits. Perhaps the Church should have stood up to the government and not acquiesced in shutting down during the pandemic.
Another festival has made a come back. This time it's the strawberry festival in Benguet.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1744632/in-benguet-strawberry-fest-makes-sweet-comeback |
Strawberries again took the spotlight in this Benguet provincial capital with the resumption of the in-person festival that has helped turn this vegetable-growing town into a distinct tourist destination.
“We once had guests who announced to their friends that they were in Baguio picking strawberries,” said Mayor Romeo Salda on Friday during the main program of this year’s Strawberry Festival, which is being restaged with parades since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared in 2020.
He said the tourists’ account happened during the term of the late Mayor Nestor Fongwan, who quickly informed the visitors that “they were no longer in Baguio” and had actually crossed to La Trinidad Valley.
La Trinidad and the rest of Benguet, Salda said, are producing the strawberries, flowers, and vegetables that tourists buy in Baguio.
It's another sign that everything is back to normal.
The OCTA says the nationwide COVID-19 positivity rate has decreased to 3.3%
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1745123/nationwide-covid-19-positivity-rate-slightly-decreases-to-3-3-octa-research |
The COVID-19 positivity rate nationwide slightly went down to 3.3 percent, according to Octa Research fellow Guido David on Sunday.
Based on daily numbers posted by David, it can be noted that the positivity rate nationwide progressively rose from March 10 at 2.6 percent to 3.4 percent on March 17, before decreasing to the latest number.
The latest rate reflects the 169 fresh infections recorded on Saturday, with active cases currently at 9,270 and deaths at 66,265, based on the Department of Health’s (DOH) online COVID-19 tracker.
On the other hand the DOH says new cases are up by 19%.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1197800 |
The country’s daily average of new coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases increased by 19 percent from March 15 to 19, the Department of Health (DOH) reported Monday.
Daily infections increased to 167 from 140 infections on March 5 to 12.
The DOH also reported 1,171 new cases and 63 verified deaths in the recent week.
To date, the country has logged over 4.08 million coronavirus cases and more than 66,272 fatalities.
During the same week, the tally of severe and critical infections went up to 368 from the previous 351.
Out of a nation of 110 million people these numbers remain low and practically insignificant.
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