More news about how the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines is being handled by the public and the government.
Boracay is open to tourists.
Boracay will implement protocols to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus when it reopens next month, including a rule for beachgoers to wear anti-virus masks, an official said Thursday.
The resort island will have 9 swimming areas where authorities are tasked with monitoring the wearing of masks and physical distancing, running thermal scans, and getting the personal information of tourists for contact-tracing, said Acting Malay, Aklan Mayor Frolibar Bautista.
(At the beach area, you have to wear a face mask. You can remove it when you swim. But as long as you're in a public area, you should really use a mask. Swimsuits will now be a 3-piece set, instead of 2-piece.)
What exactly is a 3-piece bathing suit? And will men also be required to wear one? As tourists spots being to open the PNP will be there to assist.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1116377 |
As some of the country’s tourist spots prepare to reopen, Joint Task Force COVID Shield commander, Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, on Wednesday ordered all police units to start coordinating with their respective local government units (LGUs) to maintain strict implementation of health and safety protocols against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
“Early planning is essential in the success of local tourism. As police commanders, we have the obligation to ensure that there must be a balance between the revival of the local economy and the health safety of the people in this time of pandemic,” Eleazar said.
Being on the frontlines has put the PNP in the crosshairs of COVID-19. Cases within the ranks continue to rise.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1116569 |
The Philippine National Police (PNP) reported that 119 more police officers contracted the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), bringing the total number of cases among its ranks to 5,650.
Meanwhile, 4,407 PNP personnel have recovered from the disease while the death toll stands at 17.
The PNP Health Service is also monitoring 1,226 active cases.
Cops tested for Covid-19 observe a 14-day quarantine and undergo another test.
Once cleared, they have to rest for seven to 10 more days before going back to duty.
Only 17 dead is not bad. However the DOH says critical cases have been rising.
In these trying times people are doing all it takes to care for their families. One young man biked hundreds of kilometers to seek help for his family.
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| https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2020/09/25/2044999/doh-covid-19-critical-care-cases-spiking |
“You know, this 3.1 percent is an increase by two percentage points, which we noticed since two days ago,” he said in Filipino.
Vega said DOH officials were surprised at the surge, but downplayed any worries about a shortage in beds at Metro Manila hospitals, saying the capacity for “critical care” cases has not been strained.
“We are now validating in the intensive care units and critical units because you will notice that there are still adequate beds in Metro Manila. We also have adequate number of ICU beds,” he said.
“But we’re also trying to find out the reasons why there is an increase of two percentage points,” he added.
He acknowledged that this “new development” should be verified from the ground and that the patients who turned critical should be profiled.It remains to be seen what the reasons for this increase are but it is likely to due the patients having existing co-morbidities.
In these trying times people are doing all it takes to care for their families. One young man biked hundreds of kilometers to seek help for his family.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1339954/teen-bikes-850-km-to-seek-help-for-family-hit-hard-by-pandemic |
As the coronavirus pandemic has made life more difficult for his family, 19-year-old Peter Roncales decided to leave their house in San Pedro City, Laguna province, to seek help from relatives in Eastern Samar province.
But he did not have money for public transportation, so he grabbed his bike and pedaled more than 850 kilometers to reach his parents’ hometown in Oras, Eastern Samar.
The 10-day trip turned out to be a nightmare. Roncales had a flat tire seven times, got sideswiped by a motorcycle, and lost consciousness at least twice from hunger, thirst and fatigue.
Some thugs even tried to get his bike but left him after he pleaded tearfully.
Thoughts about his family’s future kept him going. When he arrived at the provincial checkpoint in Eastern Samar at 7 p.m. on Sept. 21, he was extremely exhausted and famished.
Roncales did not have the required travel documents or coordinated with the local government, but those manning the checkpoint were more concerned of his condition and immediately gave him food and water.
In a telephone interview this week, Roncales recalled how life had been difficult in San Pedro, especially when the pandemic struck in March.
“Since the lockdown, we hardly ate three times a day,” he said.
His father, Mariano, 62, a “taho” (soybean curd) vendor, could not go out of the house and sell due to quarantine restrictions. His mother, Liza, 60, is a laundrywoman.
The sixth in a brood of seven, Roncales said three of his siblings had families of their own and could not help them.
He said his family had planned to return to Oras for good but never had a chance.
Perhaps if the silly and arbitrary age restrictions were not in place this man's father could leave the house to sell his bean curds and make money for the family! This boy is not the first person to make an incredible journey because of the pandemic.
Would have been nice if some people had also given him a ride in the back of their truck.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1117038 |
After walking hundreds of kilometers from Metro Manila and being stuck in a quarantine center in Sorsogon, a jobless man finally arrived in Eastern Samar on Tuesday.
The story of Roel Navidad, 27, has gone viral on social media after Vince Yadao, an employee of the Department of Public Works and Highways assigned at a checkpoint in Taft, Eastern Samar posted a photo of the man wearing a worn-out shirt, pants, and slippers.
Yadao said Navidad left Manila in the third week of August and arrived in Sorsogon early in September after walking for about 600 km.
Navidad, a native of General Macarthur, Eastern Samar, lost his job as a construction worker.
Without money in his pocket, he walked the seemingly endless road to be with his family, Yadao said.
Some people he met along the way gave him food and water.
After hours of rest and good meals at the border control point, the local government of General Macarthur picked him up at 10 p.m. on Tuesday and brought him to the quarantine center where he will stay for 14 days, Yadao said in a message to the Philippine News Agency (PNA).
Would have been nice if some people had also given him a ride in the back of their truck.
Manny Pacquiao could be fighting again and if he does some of the proceeds will go to COVI-19 efforts.
Sen. Manny Pacquiao's camp on Saturday confirmed that the Filipino boxing icon and former UFC champ Connor McGregor are finalizing details for a fight next year.
News of the fight first came from McGregor's agent Audie Attar, who claimed that the fight will likely happen in the Middle East some time in 2021.
Pacquiao's special assistant Jayke Joson then released a statement confirming the news.
"We won't deny it. In fact, our lawyers are finalizing all the confidential details, but both fighters are getting ready for this one epic last boxing fight," Joson said.
Joson also revealed that a portion of the senator's earnings from this blockbuster fight will be used to fund efforts against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
"As what our senator says, all his fights are dedicated for the welfare and unity of all Filipinos, including this one," added Joson.
How will that work exactly? Will Pacquiao be donating the money to the government?
A COVID Christmas is just around the corner and some experts have issued guidelines to celebrate safely.
A COVID Christmas is just around the corner and some experts have issued guidelines to celebrate safely.
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| https://www.philstar.com/lifestyle/health-and-family/2020/09/26/2045272/heres-what-celebrating-christmas-2020-could-look-like-according-medical-experts |
Be mindful if local ordinances prohibit gatherings. Virtual activities should be practiced instead in areas with high local transmission of COVID-19. Face-to-face social activities are possible as long as proper distancing, contact reduction and protection precautions are observed, especially for more vulnerable family members. Wear face masks and face shields (except for children under two years) during gatherings. Practice proper hygiene, particularly handwashing. Family and neighborhood gatherings should be held as much as possible outdoors, such as in a garden or lawn. Guests should be limited and screened, with a strict schedule observed during the gathering. Members of the same household should be seated together. Anyone experiencing symptoms such as coughing or fever prior to the event should not attend. Videoke and alcohol should not be at the venue. Notify other guests if symptoms are experienced after the gathering. Online shopping for gifts is preferable.
With all those guidelines a good time is guaranteed for all. One public health expert says that to have a very nice Christmas Manila should remain under GCQ until the end of October. The government thinks so too and has opted to follow this advice.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1341422/philippines-extends-coronavirus-curbs-for-another-month-to-prevent-christmas-surge |
Current quarantine restrictions in the Philippine capital Manila and five other urban centers will stay till at least October, as the government heeds experts who warn that reopening the country too early may lead to a surge in coronavirus infections by Christmas time.
The rest of the country will be under the less restrictive “modified general community quarantine”, Health Secretary Francisco Duque announced during a meeting late on Monday (Sept 28) with President Rodrigo Duterte.
Data crunchers and health experts at the state-run University of the Philippines said indicators had so far been encouraging.
“Based on past data and trends, a premature downgrading of the quarantine status may increase the risk of a surge in December, around Christmas time,” they warned.
Who's to say another month of GCQ in Manila will stop the uptick in cases? It has been 9 months and the longest lockdown in the world has done nothing to slow the spread of the virus.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1340659/longest-lockdown-lost-opportunities-300k-cases |
The country reached an undesirable milestone when its total COVID-19 cases topped 300,000 on Saturday, nearly eight months to the day since the country recorded its first infection in a visiting Chinese woman.
With 2,747 new infections, the national total rose to 301,256, a reminder of how the government is still grappling with how to stem the spread of the new coronavirus virus that causes the severe respiratory disease.
Despite the world’s longest lockdown, the country has not significantly reduced the number of new COVID-19 cases.
In the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 22-member Western Pacific region, it is only the Philippines that continues to report cases in the thousands daily.
The additional cases reported on Saturday show an apparent slowdown in new infections. There were only three times in September when daily cases went beyond 4,000. There has been an average of 3,169 cases daily this month.
Thousands of new cases are being reported every day. This is despite all the stringent protocols foisted on the public like mandatory face shields by all workers. One group has asked the DOH to reconsider this policy.
In a joint letter addressed to the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases through Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, who co-chairs the body, business groups proposed the “implementation of practical workplace protocols.”
The groups include the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), Philippine Silk Road International Chamber of Commerce (PSRICC), Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP), and Philippine Exporters Confederation (PhilExport).
In its proposal, the business groups said the private sector is “one with government in helping ensure that the workplace is safe for our stakeholders.”
However, the groups said that except for the frontliners, “we respectfully take exception to the wearing of face shields inside the office and factories for the rest of our employees, since this can adversely affect their vision, physical safety and productivity.”
The business sector explained that wearing of face masks and face shields is particularly a serious concern for the construction and manufacturing industries such as electronics and automotives which work with minute parts and sensitive production lines.
“Please note that the situation in the workplace is not the same as on the streets, since office movements are controlled and guided by the safety and health protocols such as temperature checking, washing of hands and sanitizing footwear,” it said.
Meanwhile, business groups also said that the mandatory isolation rooms for every 200 employees also pose major issues.
“First, there is the problem of space on where to locate these rooms. Second, why is the government passing the responsibility to the private sector when obviously we are not competent to handle this?” the groups said.
“The in-house isolation rooms will even endanger the people working in the same building, causing much apprehension that they are within the vicinity as the infected people,” the groups added.
The business sector, likewise, recommended to relax the rules for other non-essential sectors.
The DOH of course said, "No," to these common sense proposals. The Palace has envy weighed-in on this situation saying that face shields are supported by science.
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| https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2020/09/28/2045743/palace-not-unreasonable-require-face-masks-shields-work |
"You know, it has been proven by science that the wearing of face shields can help prevent the spread of COVID-19. If I'm not mistaken, the wearing of face (masks) is 94 percent effective in preventing COVID while face shields provide an additional three percent, so 97 percent protection is provided to the people," Roque said at a press briefing.He's actually wrong about that and you can check for yourself at all the studies linked on this page: https://cv19.fr/eng/english/
Since the beginning of the lockdown 424,000 people have been nabbed for quarantine violations.
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| https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/757390/424-000-accosted-so-far-over-health-protocol-violations-eleazar/story/ |
“Based on our daily monitoring for the past 194 days, we have already charged 424,000 violators. But if we look, it averaged around 2,186, ”Elezar said.
Eleazar encouraged strengthening the barangay reporting system for better monitoring of violations.
“After booking, they are given an ordinance violation receipt and sent home. And in due course, they must pay a penalty in accordance with the provision of the ordinance, ”he said.
It's really a no brainer that when the government makes up new rules, rules that are actually burdensome such as wearing a face shield or maintaining a certain distance from people, that there will be violators.
The COVID-19 lockdowns have hit Pangasinan's say industry rather hard.
The COVID-19 lockdowns have hit Pangasinan's say industry rather hard.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1340841/covid-brings-pangasinan-towns-salt-industry-to-a-standstill |
Warehouses storing salt harvested in the town of Dasol in Pangasinan province would have been empty by this time of the year.
But since March, when the community quarantine was imposed by the government to control the spread of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the sprawling salt industry there had to hit the “pause” button.
Companies that heavily rely on soy sauce, “patis” (fish sauce), “bagoong” (fish paste) and other salt-based products have cut their production since March, said Mayor Noel Nacar.
“Our warehouses are still full with salt harvested last summer and we will produce some more two months from now,” Nacar, who engages in the salt-making business, told the Inquirer.
Nacar said most salt farm and warehouse owners like him were still hoping to get buyers of their stock until December.
“We believe that the slump in our sales is only temporary. Salt farm workers, on the other hand, are not losing their jobs,” he said.
The slump in salt sales is surely temporary but for how long? Could be a lot longer and that could be bad.
