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/1766876/fwd-covid-19-pandemic-not-yet-over-doh |
The Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday reminded the public that the COVID-19 pandemic is not yet over, despite the World Health Organization (WHO) lifting the global state of public health emergency.
“Even though the WHO has already lifted the public health emergency of international concern status, hindi po nila sinabi na tapos na ang pandemya (they did not say that the pandemic is over),” said DOH officer in charge Maria Rosario Vergeire in a press briefing.
“We cannot be complacent at this point, kailangan tuloy tuloy pa rin tayong maging mapagmatiyag and remain vigilant,” she added.
(We cannot be complacent at this point, we still need to be vigilant.)
Vergeire pointed out that the WHO’s lifting of the global public health emergency is merely an acknowledgment of the fact that the world’s response against the virus has been effective.
Vigilance has been the word of the day for the past two years since all the major restrictions were lifted.
The emergency status was the driving force for the COVID vaccine to be free. The DOH is counting on it remaining free.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1767612/doh-counts-on-covid-vax-still-free-postcrisis |
COVID-19 vaccines may remain available at no cost to Filipinos even if the state of public health emergency is lifted, as long as the government keeps funding the two-year-old mass inoculation program, the country’s acting health chief said on Wednesday.
But maintaining the nationwide rollout of free COVID-19 jabs, even just for vulnerable sectors, “is a decision the government has to make,” Department of Health (DOH) officer in charge Maria Rosario Vergeire told a press conference.
She said it was now a question of how long the government could afford to administer COVID-19 jabs for free or whether it should start looking at other ways to protect the public from the contagion.
“We will get to that point wherein we will subject [the program] to [a review] by the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) to determine whether it would be cost-effective for the government,” Vergeire said.
She cited earlier assessments made by the HTA for vaccines against flu and influenza under the national immunization program, which found that ultimately, it was “more cost-effective to protect [people from vaccine-preventable diseases] than to cover for hospital expenses.”
Formed in 2019, the Health Technology Assessment Council (HTAC) is an independent advisory panel created under Republic Act No. 11223 or the Universal Health Care Act.
It conducts appraisals and guidance on health interventions and technologies that would be funded by the government. On March 6, its operations were formally turned over to the Department of Science and Technology in compliance with the law.
The health official also encouraged vaccine makers to apply for certificate of product registration (CPR) so that the private sector and physicians could gain immediate access to COVID-19 vaccines once the public health emergency status was revoked.
This would also mean that COVID-19 doses would be available for commercial use.
A CPR is a license granted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the manufacturing, distribution and sale of a medical device. All COVID-19 vaccines and medicines in the government’s inventory are currently distributed and administered under an emergency use authorization or EUA.
But in the absence of a prevailing health emergency, the FDA loses the authority to issue an EUA for COVID-19 vaccines and drugs.
If they do remain free it seems that won't be for long.
President Marcos appears to have an entirely different attitude than the DOH.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1201348 |
President Ferdinand R Marcos Jr. said Thursday the Philippines has already been on “normal footing” even before the World Health Organization (WHO) declared an end to the emergency phase of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
In a media interview on board his flight back to the Philippines, Marcos said there is no need to restore the emergency status in the country concerning the global health emergency downgrade.
“So we don’t need to do anything. We are already on normal footing. Nauna pa tayo sa kanila (We were ahead of them). And in terms of the... requirement that we used to have for a valid vaccine certificate, wala, matagal nang tinanggal ‘yun(we removed that long ago),” he said.
“So now we have the e-Pass that’s much easier to use. That was… to make the ease of travel better. But we did that a few months back.”
House of Representatives Speaker Martin Romualdez said the WHO declaration should pave the way for the Philippines to sustain economic growth or even take the economy to a higher growth path.
The lifting would translate to increased mobility, more economic activities, and therefore additional job and income opportunities for workers and their families, Romualdez added.
He noted that the lifting of travel restrictions would also mean more tourists visiting the Philippines.
“Let the concerned government agencies and sectors of the economy prepare for this possibility, which will benefit tourist destinations and local communities,” he said.
Marcos says the nation better get ready for more tourists. The DOT agrees.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1201598 |
The Department of Tourism (DOT) said Tuesday the country will now chart its way "forward" in terms of tourism development as the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the end of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) global health emergency.
Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco, in a Palace briefing, said the country would continue to open its borders to tourists despite an increase in Covid-19 cases.
She assured that all minimum health and safety standards are in place and are observed by DOT-accredited establishments.
"The pandemic is over, according to the World Health Organization. That is why while we continue to support the Department of Health's measures as far as ensuring the health and safety of our Filipinos, the direction of the Philippines is forward. And that is to ensure that we continue to open up the country to travel and tourism as is the direction set by our President (Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.)," Frasco said.
Marcos earlier said the Philippines has already been on “normal footing” even before the WHO declaration ending the emergency phase of the pandemic.
That is a completely different sentiment than that of the DOH. It seems the DOH wants the pandemic to continue.
COVID cases are up. But they are mostly mild.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1769558/daily-covid-infections-jump-31-cases-mostly-mild |
The number of daily COVID-19 infections recorded on Monday rose to 1,773 — a 31-percent increase from the previous daily average of 1,352 recorded last week — but these were mostly mild cases.
No coronavirus deaths had been reported in the past two weeks, while healthcare utilization remained low, according to the weekly case update of the Department of Health (DOH).
The department said only 53 of 12,414 people who tested positive last week were either seriously or critically ill, as were 437 of 4,185 patients currently admitted in hospitals nationwide.
These patients made up 26 percent of 15,891 individuals still infected as of May 14.
The DOH said 18.8 percent of reserved COVID-19 intensive care unit (ICU) beds and 21.7 percent of non-ICU beds are occupied.
The healthcare utilization rate is considered at low risk if it is not higher than 20 percent.
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| https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/13/23/experts-warn-pinoys-to-be-extra-cautious-amid-rise-in-covid-19-cases |
An infectious diseases expert on Saturday stressed the importance of getting vaccinated against COVID-19, as sub variants are being blamed for the recent spike in cases.Doctor Rontgene Solante said he is seeing unvaccinated infected patients in critical condition, adding that the elderly are especially vulnerable."So those who don't have the vaccine are the ones who are really affected by it who can become critical and elderly, so upwards of 65 to 70 years old and above, this is a bit dangerous even if we say mild, but if you don't have the vaccine and you have this age group that is quite old then the risk that you can be severe will be there," he said.Some symptoms of arcturus to look out for are: severe sore throat, fever and sore eyes or conjunctivitis.Those who were fully vaccinated and received a booster shot were able to recover quickly."Fully vaccinated and boostered that the symptoms are very short. Three days or less than 3 days the fever is gone, the cough is gone but the sore throat sometimes will be there 5 days 7 days," Solante said.Meanwhile, public health advocate Dr. Tony Leachon reminded the public to still observe coronavirus protocols to avoid getting infected. He said that cases of COVID-19 are increasing with the highest number of cases after 7 months recorded on Friday. It totaled 2,114 new cases."This number may be underestimated, but let's not worry because as long as I say we wear a face mask, we drink alcohol, we social distance and we fix our indoor air quality, we can avoid it," he said.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1769486/baguio-city-to-require-anew-wearing-of-face-masks-especially-in-indoor-settings-mayor |
Face masks will again be mandatory in Baguio City, especially in indoor settings due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases, Mayor Benjamin Magalong announced on Monday.
“Kaya dito ipapatupad na uli natin (We will now enforce again) … especially indoors, we are now requiring our constituents and visitors to be wearing their face masks,” Magalong said in an interview posted in the Baguio City Public Information Office’s Facebook page.
Magalong said the executive order requiring the mandatory use of face masks is expected to be released on Monday.
“This is one way of mitigating, hopefully we are able to reduce the number of cases,” he added.
Magalong said the COVID-19’s reproduction number of the city is “above one.”
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| https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/news/05/17/23/metro-manila-wont-reinstate-mask-mandate-for-now-mayor |
Metro Manila won’t make face masks mandatory again amid a rise in COVID-19 cases in the country, the head of the Metro Manila Council said Wednesday.San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora said Metro Manila remains in the low-risk category for COVID, with hospital utilization rate at 29 percent.
“So that is within the low risk category. At ang positivity rate po natin ay 25 percent…ngunit karamihan po talaga ay mild lamang (our positivity rate is 25 percent, most of the cases are mild),” he said.
(Yes, some cities are reimposing mask mandates, but overall in Metro Manila, together with the DOH, we are under the low risk category at Alert Level 1, and under that category face masks are optional.)
Zamora said the mayors did not discuss imposing mask mandates yet in their last meeting.
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| https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/metro/870263/manila-imposes-mandatory-face-masking-at-city-hall/story/ |
How many municipalized will follow suit?More local government units (LGUs) have adopted face-masking policies and imposed stricter measures amid the rising cases of COVID-19.
According to Cedric Castillo's report on "24 Oras", Manila has made the wearing of face masks mandatory inside the city hall.
Quezon City, on the other hand, advised the residents to wear face masks, especially in crowded areas.
“Mahigpit po nating ipatutupad ang pagsuot ng face mask sa loob ng inyong mga tanggapan at sa lahat po ng mga dadayo sa Manila City Hall,” Manila City mayor Honey Lacuna said.
(We will strictly enforce the wearing of face masks inside your offices and on all visitors to Manila City Hall.)
This was supported by both staff and visitors at the city hall.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1769854/2-private-schools-in-bacolod-permanently-cease-operations |
All it took was two years to wipe out 60 years of service. That pretty much sums up the pandemic and the economically crippling lockdowns.Jack & Jill School and Castleson High School, two private schools in this city are permanently closing on June 30 after six decades of service to the community.
Dr. Muriel Lopez-Wagner, president of Jack & Jill School and Castleson High School, cited the insurmountable burden on its finances due to the reverberating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic despite its swift conversion to online classes and intensive teacher training.
She also mentioned a decrease in enrollment year after year as well as the passing away of the schools’ founder Cecilia del Castillo Lopez in 2020.
“I think several significant factors led to the ultimate financial collapse where the only way out was to sell a building,” she said in a statement released on May 9.
Lopez-Wagner expressed her deepest gratitude “to hundreds of parents, students, alumni, teachers, staff members, and loyal supporters who will always carry the Jack & Jill trademark and love.”
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