More news about how the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines is being handled by the public and the government.
Tourism is rebounding but Chinese tourists to the Philippines have remained low.
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| https://globalnation.inquirer.net/225743/chinese-tourists-visiting-ph-decline-after-pandemic-envoy |
There is a sharp decline in Chinese tourists in the country compared to the period prior to the pandemic, according to Beijing’s envoy to Manila.
Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian made the observation during the inauguration of the Chinese Visa Application Service Center in Makati City on Thursday.
Huang said that almost 1.8 million Chinese tourists visited the country in 2019. However, he noted that in 2023, the tourist arrival from China only reached over two hundred thousand.
“We are pleased to see that people-to-people exchanges have rapidly recovered following the pandemic. But there is still room for improvement compared to pre-pandemic levels,” Huang said of Chinese tourist arrival in his opening speech.
On the other hand, Huang noted that there is a growing demand for Chinese visas, which prompted the embassy to create the visa application center.
“The enthusiasm of Filipinos to visit China and the demand for Chinese visa have been growing fast over the years,” he said.
On the other hand many Filipinos have been visiting China since the pandemic has ended.
Just before the pandemic began ABS-CBN's broadcasting license was revoked. Despite that hardship they have won three big awards one for an internal safety communication campaign regarding COVID-19.
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| https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/01/24/24/abs-cbn-scores-3-big-wins-at-the-20th-philippine-quill-awards |
ABS-CBN clinched three Awards of Excellence at the 20th Philippine Quill Awards, which honored the company’s creative breakthrough in staging an online fundraiser for super typhoon Odette survivors and compelling internal safety communication campaigns during the pandemic.
The Philippine Quill Awards, given by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Philippines, recognize excellence in strategic communication and outstanding communication skills in the country.
ABS-CBN’s “Tulong-Tulong sa Pag-ahon: Isang Daan sa Pagtutulungan,” a 100-day donation challenge that leveraged on the power of its digital platforms and influential celebrities to help raise funds to provide relief to 100,000 families devastated by super typhoon Odette during the COVID-19 pandemic, was honored with an Award of Excellence.
The ”Tulong” project, which deviated from the conventional fund-drive, was marked by virtual fundraisers for 100 consecutive nights featuring popular and influential ABS-CBN stars in online concerts, interactive shows, virtual run, benefit sale, among others, on YouTube, Facebook, iWantTFC, Kumu, and Sky Cable.
The multifaceted and multi-platform fundraisers resonated with different audiences and ultimately provided aid to over 200,000 families in areas affected by the calamity. Through ABS-CBN Foundation Inc., families were given home repair kits and food supplies, while others received livestock and livelihood items to help them rebuild their lives.
Meanwhile, two employee campaigns also took home Philippine Quill awards because of its use of compelling language and appealing imagery to emphasize to workers the importance of workplace health and safety procedures.
ABS-CBN’s “Act as If You Have the Virus” internal campaign, which aimed to help mitigate COVID-19 cases within the organization using striking visuals and impactful messaging, won an Award of Excellence. This completes a three-peat recognition in IABC's international, regional, and local awards programs. Previously, it won a Gold Quill Award from IABC in New York and a Silver Quill Award from IABC Asia Pacific.
Not even Duterte can keep them down.
Traslacion has come and gone and with it the hysteria about spreading COVID-19.
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| https://www.philstar.com/nation/2024/01/28/2329134/traslacion-not-covid-19-supers-preader-event |
The traslacion or the annual procession of the image of the Black Nazarene, which drew millions of devotees, did not cause a massive COVID transmission, Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna-Pangan said on Friday.
“Two weeks ago, one of our fears during the Nazareno 2024 was that it could become a super spreader event because of COVID,” she said during a live broadcast on the Facebook page of the city’s public information office.
“Good news is based on our data, COVID cases in our city did not increase, and in fact reduced,” she added.
On Friday, the city government recorded two new COVID cases, bringing the total of active cases in the city to 32.
There were also 125,349 recoveries and 2,105 deaths related to COVID in Manila so far.
Lacuna-Pangan also expressed her condolences to a Manila resident who, despite having completed COVID vaccination, succumbed to “many comorbidities.”
A total of 6,113,598 devotees attended the traslacion, which was restored after three years of restrictions on mass gatherings due to the pandemic, according to the Quiapo Church.
Over 3.2 million devotees joined the procession, while over 1.9 million more heard hourly masses at the Quiapo Church and 939,000 trooped to the Quirino Grandstand for the “pahalik” or the veneration of the image.
The city government repeatedly reminded devotees to keep wearing their face masks. However, most of them joined the religious activity without face masks.
The government warned people to wear masks, most did not, and there was no increase in cases! Looks like masks are wholly ineffectual at this point if they ever were.
The DOH's COVID-19 trackers is not available on their website but they say that's not a problem.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2024/1/30/doh-covid-19-tracker-unavailability-not-a-setback-disease-management-being-prioritized |
In the light of concerns about the Covid-19 tracker “not being available” on the Department of Health (DOH's) website, the Department said on Tuesday, Jan. 30, that the tracker serves as just one method for information dissemination.
It emphasized that, while the tracker is an important tool, monitoring, prevention, and control of all diseases mandated by the department, including Covid-19, remain a top priority.
In its latest data, the DOH on Jan. 30 confirmed 2,148 new Covid-19 infections across the country between Jan. 16 and 22.
The average number of new cases reported each day for the previous week was 306, which was 35 percent lower than the average number of cases reported each day from Jan. 9 to 15.
Of the newly reported cases, the DOH disclosed that as of Jan. 21, 47 infections were classified as "severe" or "critical.”
It underscored the importance of continued vigilance despite the overall positive trend.
Meanwhile, in terms of fatalities, the agency confirmed 23 new deaths, maintaining the country's fatality rate at less than one percent.
The latest data from the DOH highlighted a consistently low percentage of severe and critical cases among hospital admissions, with the current count standing at 255 cases.
The percentage of occupied Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds for Covid-19 patients remained relatively low, reaching a high of 15.5 percent, with an average of 201 cases recorded as of Jan. 21.
Likewise, for Covid-19 cases, the maximum occupancy rate for non-ICU beds was 16.2 percent during the same monitoring period.
They are still keeping track even if their tracker is unavailable.
Philippine companies are eager to have everyone back in the office.
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| https://www.philstar.com/business/2024/01/30/2329445/philippine-firms-want-workers-return-office |
The Philippines has the second highest number of employers in Asia-Pacific requiring a full return to the office in the pandemic aftermath, according to tech giant Cisco.
In a survey, Cisco found that nearly half of Philippine companies are requiring employees to return to work in person post-pandemic for productivity purposes.
In Asia-Pacific, India recorded the highest number of employers mandating a full return to the office at 49 percent, followed by the Philippines (46 percent), Australia and South Korea (28 percent), and Hong Kong and Thailand (19 percent).
Taiwan stood out as the most progressive in terms of working arrangement, with only 13 percent of Taiwanese companies requiring a full return to the office.
Cisco said 65 percent of companies in the region believe that working in the office increases productivity. Apart from this, employers think that a return to the workplace allows workers to improve team communication and respond to leadership pressure.
Cisco, however, said there is a growing case of hybrid mode of work in the region as the new generation of talents are pushing for this kind of arrangement.
In the Philippines, Cisco reported that more than a third of employers expect the average Filipino to be a hybrid worker within two years.
Cisco said Filipinos like the idea of a hybrid arrangement because it supports their well-being, allows them to save more and raises their productivity.
However, Cisco said much work needs to be done to expedite the transition to hybrid work. The survey found that only half of Filipino employees believe that their office is prepared to adopt this kind of setup for good.
In the office, employees are clamoring for a reorganization of their workspaces, complaining that current designs fail to meet the needs of post-pandemic work. They cited the urgency of upgrading digital tools, given that most tasks, such as meeting with clients, are being done online nowadays.
At home, workers are requesting employers to enhance their productivity tools like collaboration software and internet subscription.
For the survey, Cisco gathered the insights of 7,550 workers and 1,650 employers in Asia and the Pacific, zeroing in on the risks and opportunities of hybrid work in Australia, Hong Kong, India, the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.
But the workspace is changing and a hybrid arrangement appears to be the way of the future. In fact the demand for work-from-home jobs is outpacing the supply.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1217899 |
Filipino jobseekers still prefer the work-from-home (WFH) arrangement despite many companies returning to normal operations after the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) lockdown.
“Work from home” is the top most searched keyword on Jobstreet by SEEK platform in the Philippines, according to managing director Dannah Majarocon on Tuesday.
"Work from home has definitely grown over the past couple of years spearheaded during the pandemic. And now that we've been transitioning out of the pandemic, the demand on the candidate side on work from home or hybrid work continues to grow... On the hirer side, hybrid work, remote work are still things that they are continuing to consider," she said during a media event at the Jobstreet by SEEK headquarters in Taguig City.
She said that with the demand for hybrid work scheme, some companies are looking to institutionalizing flexible work arrangement.
To attract jobseekers to work onsite, companies also compensate WFH arrangement with other benefits such as mental health wellness and opportunities, allowing them to support non-traditional needs that candidates asked for the past years, she added.
SEEK Asia chief operating officer Lewis Ng said many companies across Asia are still understanding and refining their approach to flexible working.
But compared to the Philippines, keyword search for “work from home” across the region is declining.
"We see a lot less explicit work from home arrangements in the job description but what do we see more of is hybrid working. And that just goes to show that companies and hirers are really trying to figure out what is the best for the employees, because many employees definitely have a preference for work from home," Ng added.
Of course with a slow internet and intermittent brownouts WFH might not be all that reliable in the Philippines.
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