https://www.sunstar.com.ph/ |
- Staycation suspended during ECQ in Metro Manila, 4 provinces
- Active Covid-19 cases in PNP breach 2,000
- NCR plus to revert to ECQ for Holy Week, Palace confirms
| Staycation suspended during ECQ in Metro Manila, 4 provinces Posted: 28 Mar 2021 01:20 AM PDT THE Department of Tourism (DOT) has ordered the suspension of staycations during the reimposition of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Metro Manila and provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal. DOT Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said hotels, resorts, apartment hotels, motels and similar establishments can only accept guests with long-term lease contracts, locally stranded individuals or those transiting to their place of residence, and authorized persons outside of residence pursuant to their official duties. Guests who check in Sunday, March 28, will still be allowed but new bookings will not be accepted from March 29 to April 4, 2021. Puyat reminded the hotels to adhere to the health protocols set by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases and the DOT. These facilities may employ only a skeleton workforce and the staff should be provided with free accommodation. Regardless of quarantine status, hotels are not allowed to operate their restaurants, cafes, bars, gyms, spas, swimming pools, and conference or function halls unless they were permitted by the Department of Health or the Bureau of Quarantine to prepare packed meals for staff and guests or for takeout and delivery to the public. Puyat said hotels have agreed to rebook guest bookings for free. The DOT has categorized accommodation establishments into the following based on the nature of their operations:
Puyat said quarantine hotels are required to implement measures to ensure that guests under mandatory quarantine will not mix with health workers. These measures include the designation of separate floors or wings, elevators and passageways. She said hotels that fail to implement these protocols may face sanctions, including fines, suspension and cancellation of accreditation. (SunStar Philippines)  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Active Covid-19 cases in PNP breach 2,000 Posted: 28 Mar 2021 12:48 AM PDT ADDITIONAL temporary quarantine and treatment facilities were established for the Philippine National Police (PNP) as active cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) among its personnel breached 2,000 on Saturday, March 27, 2021. Lieutenant General Guillermo Eleazar, PNP deputy chief for administration, said they recorded an unprecedented 2,068 active Covid-19 cases on Saturday. Eleazar said 66 were being monitored in hospitals while 2,002 were in quarantine facilities. He also said 63.1 percent or 1,304 were in the National Capital Region (NCR). Of these, 15.5 percent were from the NCR Police Office (NCRPO) and 18.5 percent from the national headquarters. "As what I have stated before, the PNP is part of the general population and since the country, particularly Metro Manila is experiencing upsurge of cases, we expect the same result especially that we are on the frontline of implementing the quarantine rules," Eleazar said in a statement. He said the PNP has been recording over 1,000 active cases daily since March 16, prompting them to develop additional isolation facilities. The PNP's cumulative Covid-19 cases have reached 14,283, including 37 deaths and 12,178 recoveries. Of the confirmed cases, 5,687 were from the NCR plus area, which will be placed on lockdown on March 29. Of the 5,687, 627 were from the national headquarters, 3,543 from the National Capital Region Police Office, 578 from Central Luzon and 939 from Calabarzon. Isolation facilities Eleazar confirmed a video circulated on social media, which showed that the Kiangan Emergency Treatment Facility is already crowded. "We confirm that it indeed happened early this week at a time when the PNP was recording unprecedented number of Covid-19 cases. But measures were immediately undertaken during that time to provide the medical needs of our personnel such as deployment of more PNP medical and healthcare workers at Kiangan, deployment of more beds and setting up of more tents purposely to accommodate more personnel beyond the isolation facility's maximum 55-bed capacity," he said. He said Kiangan also serves as medical assessment area and transit point for coronavirus-positive personnel. Eleazar said the PNP Covid-19 protocol requires PNP personnel who test positive for coronavirus to report for medical assessment at Kiangan. If all beds are in use, Kiangan serves as a holding area for Covid-19 cases waiting to be transported to other PNP isolation facilities. Eleazar said they identified other isolation facilities aside from Kiangan, Ultra, PICC and Nice Hotel when they noticed a rise in cases. The PNP converted the taekwondo gym into an isolation facility with 40 beds, the former Dehta Restautant into a facility with 11 beds, and Provident and other offices into a facility with 46 beds. The PNP also converted its tennis court into a temporary isolation facility with at least 100 beds for new Covid-19 patients awaiting assessment and transfer to other isolation facilities. This is already operational. The other facilities will begin operations on April 1. More equipment were also put in place in the PNP's triage area beside the swimming pool. Anti-Covid measures Eleazar brushed aside allegations that the PNP has been lax in the implementation of anti-Covid measures. "To allege or to insinuate that we are not taking care of our personnel is grossly unfair and an insult to our medical personnel and healthcare workers who have been on the frontline and rendering overtime duties since day one," he said. Eleazar said they have been conducting regular RT-PCR tests among their personnel, especially those assigned in Metro Manila, in order to have a clear picture of Covid-19 situation in the organization. However, he said they cannot just isolate their personnel while waiting for the test as it would hamper operations. Eleazar said to prevent the further spread of the virus among the PNP, some officers conduct surprise inspections to ensure that policemen follow minimum health protocols such as wearing of face masks and face shields at all times, and observing physical distancing. He assured all PNP personnel of the all-out medical support system for those who contract the coronavirus. Meanwhile, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said there are still enough police personnel to enforce enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) protocols in Metro Manila, Bulacan, Laguna, Rizal and Cavite from Monday, March 29 to Sunday, April 4. DILG Undersecretary Bernardo Florece Jr. said the PNP will be assisted by the Armed Forces of the Philippines and local government units. (Third Anne Peralta-Malonzo / SunStar Philippines)  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| NCR plus to revert to ECQ for Holy Week, Palace confirms Posted: 27 Mar 2021 03:31 AM PDT (UPDATED) The National Capital Region (NCR) and the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal will revert to the most stringent quarantine level for the Holy Week beginning 12:01 a.m. Monday, March 29, 2021, in a bid to slow down transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said President Rodrigo Duterte approved the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to place the capital region and the four provinces, collectively known as NCR plus or Greater Manila Area, under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) a week after the same area was placed in a Covid-19 bubble. "Sa madaling salita, homeliners po tayo muli. Sa bahay po tayo, except kung magta-trabaho tayo sa bukas na industriya, kung tayo po ay Apor at para kumuha ng mga necessities gaya po ng pagkain at gamot," he said. (In short, we shall be homeliners again. Everyone should stay home, except those working in allowed industries, authorized persons outside residence and those on errands to procure necessities such as food and medicine.) Roque said, however, that the public transportation system will continue to operate, albeit at a limited capacity, and essential businesses will remain open. He said there is no need for the affected population, estimated at 25 million, to panic because both the Department of Trade and Industry, and Department of Agriculture have assured that there is enough supply of basic and prime commodities. "Mga kababayan, huwag na po kayong mag-panic. Kasi hindi naman ito unang karanasan natin sa ECQ. Sa ECQ po, bukas lahat ng supermarkets, bukas ang palengke, bukas ang convenience stores. At sinisigurado po ng DA at ng DTI na sapat po ang bilihin sa lahat ng ating merkado," Roque said. (My fellow countrymen, don't panic. This is not our first ECQ. Under ECQ, supermarkets, public markets and convenience stores will remain open. The DA and DTI have assured that there is ample supply of consumer items in all markets.) Indigent families may expect a little financial assistance from the government. The amount was being finalized as of Saturday evening, Roque said. "Dahil naiintindihan po ni Presidente na habang tayo ay naka-ECQ, eh walang pupuwedeng magtrabaho, magkakaroon po tayo ng tulong na ipamimigay sa ating mga kababayan," he said. (The President understands that under ECQ, no one will be allowed to go to work so there will be assistance.) Government expects minimal economic disruption since this new lockdown, which will occur a little more than a year after Metro Manila was first placed under quarantine on March 15, 2020, will be imposed on Holy Week. Roque noted that Maundy Thursday and Good Friday are regular non-working holidays. There will be increased presence of uniformed personnel, but there will be no need for a travel pass at checkpoints, Roque added. Essential cargoes, especially food, will be allowed to pass through these checkpoints. The announcement was made at past 6 p.m. Saturday, a couple of hours after the Department of Health (DOH) announced 9,595 new cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), nearly 10,000 for the second day in a row. Aside from imposing a lockdown, Roque said the National Task Force Against Covid-19 (NTF) and local government units (LGUs) will intensify prevention, detection, isolation and treatment efforts. They will also strictly enforce the minimum public health standards, such as wearing of face masks and face shields, physical distancing and hand hygiene, in public areas and workplaces. Roque also said government will conduct a house-to-house campaign to detect cases and trace contacts of confirmed cases. "Magbabahay-bahay po tayo na maghahanap ng mga taong meron pong mga sintomas," he said. (We will conduct a house-to-house search for individuals who have symptoms of Covid-19.) He said those found positive for the virus that causes Covid-19 as well as suspect cases and close contacts of confirmed cases will be placed in isolation. Roque's announcement confirmed the social media posts of Cavite Governor Jonvic Remulla and Laguna Governor Ramil Hernandez about the ECQ. In separate social media posts, Remulla and Hernandez said, respectively, that Cavite and Laguna will revert to ECQ on March 28. Remulla took down his Twitter post about 30 minutes later, at about the same time that Malacañang advised that Roque was scheduled to make an announcement at 6 p.m. Saturday. As of Saturday, active Covid-19 cases in the country have gone up to a record high 118,122, 16.6 percent of the country's 712,442 cumulative caseload, the DOH case bulletin showed. The 9,595 cases on Saturday brought the partial case count for March 2021 to 136,370, much higher than the 127,465 cases recorded in the entire month of August 2020. Read: March 2021 partial Covid-19 count surpasses August 2020 record As of March 25, there were 41 health facilities with critical Covid-19 utilization rates of over 85 percent, 24 at high risk and 15 at moderate risk in Metro Manila. The number of facilities that were still in the safe zone decreased to 72, the DOH tracker showed. (Marites Villamor-Ilano / SunStar Philippines)  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| You are subscribed to email updates from https://www.sunstar.com.ph/. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States | |
No comments:
Post a Comment