More news about how the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines is being handled by the public and the government.
Undas has been cancelled and it looks like Christmas might also be cancelled. At least for some people.
Perhaps they will issue a memorandum to cancel Christmas parties. Seems likely. We are in this for the long haul after all. The government of Baguio is requiring health inspections for birthday parties and weddings.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1342394/metro-manila-mayors-mulling-cancellation-of-lgu-christmas-parties |
Metro Manila mayors are planning to cancel Christmas parties in their local government units’ offices, Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez said Thursday.
Olivarez, who heads the Metro Manila Council, said this kind of gathering is not a priority while the country continues to grapple with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
(Perhaps all of us will issue a memorandum to all our departments and our constituents to avoid gatherings this Christmas season.)
(This is not our priority until the pandemic is over.)
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1341851/baguio-now-requires-health-inspection-for-birthday-celebrations-weddings |
Birthdays, weddings and other familial interactions will now require close supervision from health workers, after the latest coronavirus disease outbreaks in the summer capital were traced to gatherings, according to a Sept. 29 order issued by Mayor Benjamin Magalong.
From Wednesday (Sept. 30) to October 14, “social gatherings to celebrate or commemorate personal or family milestones” will be allowed under strict monitoring by the medical community, the police of village health workers, the order says.
If the event occurs at home, the barangay and the designated health workers must be notified and all protocols for social distancing must be enforced.
The gathering should involve only close family members if possible, and relatives who have low immunity due to age or a medical condition should be restricted.
If the gathering is being held at a hotel or convention hall, the venue must be inspected by the City Health Services Office.Don't you just love the new normal?
COVID-19 cases continue to surge in the Philippines placing the nation on an ignominious list.
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| https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2020/10/02/2046683/philippines-enters-list-top-20-countries-most-covid-19-infections |
With a caseload of over 314,000, the Philippines entered the list of 20 countries with the most number of coronavirus infections worldwide despite implementing one of the longest and strictest lockdowns.
The Department of Health reported 2,415 new cases Thursday, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 314,079. The Philippines overtook Pakistan’s caseload of 312,806, according to Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center and the Worldometers site.
At the 19th place is Italy, which has 317,861 cases.
The Philippines has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in Southeast Asia. Indonesia has 291,182 confirmed infections.
With a little more luck the Philippines can pull up in the rankings and maybe even become number one not just in SEA but in the world.
Despite being on this list and despite the number of cases continuing to grow the DOH says everything is under control.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1343059/doh-cites-improved-covid-handling-ph-20th-highest-in-global-case-tallies |
“We have to focus on the active cases, and not the cumulative number of cases,” she said. “When we look at our active cases, our recovery rate, case fatality rate and our health system capacity, we can see that we have improved and we think that we are able to keep up with our response for COVID-19.”
The country’s recovery rate was at least 80 percent, while its case fatality rate remained stable at less than 2 percent, Vergeire said.
Wow a 2% fatality rate! So let's end this nonsense already.
We have read stories about people traveling hundreds of miles by bike or foot to help their families. Teachers are also walking many miles through dangerous terrain to help their students.
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| https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/regions/757951/teachers-brave-muddy-trails-to-distribute-retrieve-modules-in-leyte/story/ |
Teachers in the town of Calubian in Leyte braved the trails of mud and stones to distribute and retrieve modules for their students as the country transitions to blended learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Mariz Umali’s report on “24 Oras” on Wednesday, despite the uneven and slippery road in Barangay Anislagan, three teachers of Felix Caneja Lafuente National High School still persevered just to deliver the modules for their students.
Rodrigo Almonicar Yari, Sherwin Abillar and Ar Yel Macapinig chose Anislagan because it is the most remote area in Calubian.
Modular learning is the only way students in the barangay can continue their studies because there is no internet connection nor television signal in the area.
For Abilar, the struggle to deliver and retrieve the learning materials made them realize the sacrifices the students there make everyday when they come to school.
Given the dedication of these teachers to distribute learning modules to children way out in the middle of nowhere one has to wonder why the DepEd is having problems distributing them in the NCR.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1343069/deped-distribution-of-modules-remains-a-challenge-in-ncr |
In a press conference to mark its regional school opening kickoff on Friday, DepEd National Capital Region director Malcolm Garma said all of NCR’s 16 schools divisions had already printed their self-learning modules.
Only three of them, however, have achieved 100-percent distribution rate of the self-learning modules.
Garma said a significant number of students, teachers and learners still opted to use printed modules based on their survey, so it will be the default tool for learning delivery in NCR until the second quarter of the school year.
Perhaps the teachers in the NCR can take a page from the teachers in Leyte and distribute the modules themselves?
If you remember senior citizens are not allowed to leave their homes per the IATF's guidelines. This order has been in place since mid-March and it appears old folks will be stuck inside for a long time to come. However the NCSC or National Commission on Senior Citizens is looking to change this policy.
If you remember senior citizens are not allowed to leave their homes per the IATF's guidelines. This order has been in place since mid-March and it appears old folks will be stuck inside for a long time to come. However the NCSC or National Commission on Senior Citizens is looking to change this policy.
One expert says no to this proposal especially in Cebu.In a televised briefing, NCSC chairman Franklin Quijano suggested that establishments allot the 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. time slot to senior citizens and just allow the general public to shop after the allotted time.
(We hope that the first portion of the day, they give it to senior citizens. Since malls are disinfected at night, the chances or risks of them getting any disease is low in the morning if the senior citizens are allowed.)
“This is an appeal that we would like to give to all malls, groceries, and most especially the local government units,” he added.
Under the guidelines of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, persons aged 21 below and 60 above are not allowed to go out unless it is for accessing essential goods and services and for work.
Despite the exception of essentials, Quijano said many senior citizens complain of being barred from entering establishments.
(There are many complaints that the senior citizens cannot enter malls and grocery stores and sometimes they are not able to get their basic necessities.)
An infectious disease expert in Cebu City is urging the city government to not allow the senior citizens to freely go out yet until the city has polished its monitoring and surveillance on the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) spread.
Dr. Bryan Lim said he understood the loneliness and anguish of senior citizens being cooped up in their homes for more than six months, but the risk of them contracting the disease and developing its severe form was still high.
Of the 10,000 positive cases in Cebu City, 15.24 percent of the cases are 60 years old and above, and they accounted for 57.41 percent of total deaths.
The city should also provide surgical masks for the elderly because cloth masks are not enough to protect the most vulnerable age group.
He said it might be expensive, but it would still be cheaper than the money families would have to spend if the senior citizen in facts would develop the COVID-19.
“Before we allow the seniors to go out, we should be ready and monitor the areas that are frequently visited by the elderly like the market, church, coffee shops, groceries. Remember, although the elderly does not comprise the majority of the cases, they comprise roughly 60 percent of the mortalities. So we need to minimize their risk as much as possible,” added Lim.
Lim said that only when the city had fully prepared its public places, establishments, and most frequented places should they allow the senior citizens to go out.Who's to say when the city is "fully prepared?" What does that even mean? As it is the Philippines is slowly becoming ever more authoritarian all in the name of stopping COVID-19.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1116755 |
Residents here are required to register online in the Bacolod City Covid-19 Contact Tracing (BaC-Trac) system as part of the strengthened local response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) crisis.
Upon registration, an individual will be issued a BaC-Trac card which includes the holder’s name, address, identification number, and a uniquely-assigned quick response (QR) code.
“It’s very simple. It’s free for everyone. It is also accessible. Once you are registered, a QR code will be generated for you. You can have it printed out and then keep it in your wallet,” Ang said.
Once a person enters a government building or a shopping mall, the QR code from his or her card will be scanned.
The cards will serve as a digital logbook for the purpose of recording the date and time of entry of visit.
Business and government establishments are required to download the mobile application CCTS Logger on Google store to be able to scan BaC-Trac cards.
“We require all residents of Bacolod to register. You cannot enter the malls and the markets, you cannot enter the Government Center if you don’t have a QR code. That’s why, all those residing in Bacolod should register,” Ang said.
Bacolod is adopting this system from South Cotobato. It is only a matter of time before every city in the nation requires registration in this program.
Former DOH secretary Dr. Jamie Galvez Tan says all of society should be mobilized to fight COVID-19.
Government needs to mobilize the whole of society to combat the rising number of COVID-19 infections in the country, former health secretary Dr. Jaime Galvez Tan said Saturday.
(It’s time for the President and other leaders to call on all those who have the capacity to help, the whole society, whole of government, whole of systems to coordinate. It’s time to take unified action.)
(The government seemed to have taken all the responsibilities, it did not mobilize the civil society or even the private sector—that’s what we call the whole of society.)
Several local government units have, however, earned praise for response to the crisis, from providing social aid to enforcing prevention and quarantine measures.
Government is largely counting on a vaccine to end the pandemic.
(People need to be inspired. Now, it seems that we're fixed on a vaccine.)
But Tan said it may take about a year before a vaccine is developed.
(We’ll be stuck like this for a year. More people will get infected if we wait for a vaccine.)
Does Tan not know that many private companies and foundations have donated face masks, food, and other items to frontliners? Everyone is doing their part. How does he not know this?
Online classes for public schools started the week. DepEd Secretary Briones calls this a victory against COVID-19.
Online classes for public schools started the week. DepEd Secretary Briones calls this a victory against COVID-19.
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| https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2020/10/05/2047326/start-classes-through-blended-mode-victory-over-covid-19-briones-says |
“Today, we celebrate a great victory. We declare our victory over COVID-19, the destroyer of our lives, the destroyer of our economy and our way of life and society. But we will not allow COVID-19 to destroy our children's education and their future,” Briones said.
“’Are we absolutely ready to open schools even as we battle COVID-19, the destroyer?’ This is a question which is often asked. But Lapu Lapu did not hesitate when he and his men fought and killed a foreign enemy with bamboo spears and bolos against cannons, guns and cutlasses,” Briones said.
“Andres Bonifacio did not wonder if he and his Katipuneros were ready when they tore cedulas and triggered the cry of Balintawak,” she added.
“DepEd and everyone who supports DepEd—the government, civil society and parents—will persevere. We need to continue [the learners'] education, we have to persevere despite many challenges,” Briones said.
“Today we claim victory over the destroyer COVID-19. Let our classes begin.”
What ridiculous language. What kind of victory is it that everyone is too scared to have classes in person? She is basically admitting that the Philippines is not ready when she bring up these comparisons to Lapu Lapu and Bonifacio. Modules remain undistributed and the internet continues to be the worst in all of SEA.
What better way to celebrate a victory then to have the PNP out in full battle mode ready to dispense those who would make noise which would disturb students in their homes?
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| https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2020/10/05/2047331/task-force-sends-out-more-cops-to-make-homes-conducive-online-classes |
Over the education department's National School Opening Day program on Monday, the quarantine enforcement arm of the coronavirus task force said that it directed police commanders to further intensify police visibility to "make homes and communities conducive for online classes."
In a statement issued Sunday evening, Joint Task Force COVID Shield said that the directive was "buoyed by viral videos about how hard-headed quarantine violators would scamper away once a police patrol vehicle passes by."
The task force added that police leadership was again reminded to coordinate with the local government units at the barangay level to implement ordinances "that would support the online classes, including ordinances against drinking in public and others regulating the use of videoke during online classes."
Police Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, task force commander, said that recent videos showing quarantine violators running away and returning to their homes as police cars approach their area proved that they were aware of their violations.
It is not clear how having more cops on the roads can make homes and communities more conducive for online classes, although the task force said that the directive was meant to "minimize the unnecessary noise especially coming from quarantine violators."
“The police presence on the streets and in the community is also in time for the start of the classes for public schools nationwide. Through the police presence in the community, our online learners would not be disturbed and distracted by the noises coming from the people who hang out on the streets,” said Eleazar.
“Our local police personnel and barangay officials should work together to extend all the necessary assistance to make sure that our online learners would be able to concentrate on their study,” he also said.
They want to get rid of all the noise so the children can study in peace and quiet. It's funny how usually the Philippines is a very noisy place and now they want to crack down and enforce noise ordinances.
Remember when Duterte said he was running out of money to fight COVID-19? Enter USAID.
Remember when Duterte said he was running out of money to fight COVID-19? Enter USAID.
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| https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2020/09/29/2045850/usaid-gives-philippines-p10-billion-aid-development |
The United States through the US Agency for International Development (USAID) is extending $213 million or roughly P10 billion in aid to the Philippines to help the country boost its economic development and growth amid the pandemic.
“This new USAID and Department of Finance (DOF) bilateral agreement will expand our support to help the Philippines achieve long-term, private sector-led economic growth and strengthen economic governance. These programs will create jobs and help ensure more inclusive, broad-based economic development,” said USAID mission director Lawrence Hardy II.
Through its assistance, USAID will continue to support the Philippine government objectives of improving public sector transparency and accountability; advancing the rule of law and the justice system and boosting local governments’ responsiveness to Filipino needs.
This bilateral agreement with the DOF is one of four new USAID programs with the Philippines this year, with expected total value of P32.7 billion ($675 million) over five years.
Over the past 20 years, the US has provided nearly P228.8 billion ($4.5 billion) in total assistance to advance the country’s development goals.
It does not appear that these objectives are being met. Don't forget that USAID Is basically the CIA.
Remember that Duterte is banking on a vaccine to end the pandemic. A vaccine is central to his plan. But the Philippines has NOWHERE to store a vaccine if one were available!
The Philippines is scrambling to build capacity to host coronavirus vaccines once they become available, a critical component needed to mount a massive immunization program as promised by President Rodrigo Duterte but which the country is currently incapable to do so.
A key challenge right now is finding cold storage facilities big enough to store coronavirus vaccines at temperatures as low as -80 degrees Celsius to maintain their potency. The health department said an inventory of cold storage facilities is underway, but industry officials believe the government would need to build them from scratch.
“The cold chain industry does not have that capability now because there is no existing need for that capability,” Anthony Dizon, president of the Cold Chain Association of the Philippines Inc., an industry group, said in a response to e-mailed questions.
“Although there are some industry stakeholders who have allocated some capacity and capability for pharmaceutical products, understandably, these initiatives are scaled in accordance with market ends,” he said.
As soon as a coronavirus vaccine enters the market, the health department plans to import antigens from developers in bulk. These antigens, in turn, would need to be processed in so-called “fill-and-finish facility” that essentially puts gallons of vaccines into separate vials. Vials containing vaccines need subzero temperatures to survive.
“For the vaccine transport and cold storage, we are already doing scenario building for the potential rollout of the vaccines,” the health agency said, adding the president’s directive to prioritize the elderly, health workers and the poor will be followed.
At the onset however, there are few, if any, fill-and-finish facility in the country, said Beaver Tamesis, president of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines Inc., an industry group. “Nobody really invested in the Philippines in terms of manufacturing,” he said by phone.
Hence, without fill-and-finish facilities, there could also be no viable cold storage warehouse for vaccines. As of 2018, the latest period on which data is available, Philippine cold storage facilities have capacity of 2 million cubic meters, 90% of which are dedicated for food like meat and dairy due to demand on these products.
As for distribution, Tamesis earlier said the government may get some guidance on its time-tested national immunization program. But the government had also relied on the availability of vaccine as a long-term fix to revive the economy, making it crucial that they are dispensed quickly.
Tamesis said problems may be inevitable. “Logistically, it can become a real nightmare,” he said.
Really what can one do but laugh or weep or both at this information.
