https://www.sunstar.com.ph/ |
- 3 NPA fighters killed in Masbate
- Covid-19 deaths breach 22,000
- 9 village chiefs charged over Covid-19 superspreader events
- FDA approves Pfizer vaccines for 12 to 17 years old
- Octa blames border control lapses for Covid-19 surge in regions
- Palace stands ground, diverts Mactan flights to NAIA for 1 more week
- LGUs told to find vaccinees, ensure they get 2nd dose
- FDA approves Sinopharm vaccine
- Fewer new cases as 7 labs fail to report output
| 3 NPA fighters killed in Masbate Posted: 08 Jun 2021 03:12 AM PDT THREE suspected members of the New People's Army (NPA) were killed Tuesday, June 8, 2021, during the conduct of hot pursuit operations against the rebels responsible for the explosion that killed a football player and his uncle in Masbate City. In a statement, the Joint Task Force Bicolandia said elements of 9th Infantry Division and Police Regional Office 5 engaged at least 30 communist rebels in a firefight in Barangay Anas. It lasted for about 15 minutes until the rebels fled. Various high-powered firearms, including three M16 rifles, one M14 rifle, various war materials and propaganda materials were seized at the encounter site. Two hours later, government troops captured another 12 high-powered firearms, consisting of 11 M16 rifles and one M653 rifle which were hidden in a nipa hut at the boundary of Barangay Anas and Barangay Bolo in Masbate City. These were believed to have been left behind by the fleeing terrorists. On Sunday, June 6, an improvised explosive device went off in Barangay Anas, killing Far Eastern University football player Kieth Absalon, 21, and his uncle Nolven Absalon, 40. Nolven's 16-year-old son was wounded. The IED was believed to have been planted by the NPA rebels. (SunStar Philippines)  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 08 Jun 2021 02:49 AM PDT THE Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday, June 8, 2021, reported 95 additional mortalities, which pushed the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) death toll in the Philippines past 22,000. The DOH case bulletin also listed 4,777 new cases, lowest in two weeks as testing output fell to 29,125 on June 6. The positivity rate, however, increased to 14.3 percent, or one in seven persons were found positive for Sars-CoV-2. The new cases brought the cumulative case count in the country to 1,280,773. The additional mortalities raised the death toll to 22,064. The case fatality rate remained at 1.72 percent. DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III, in his report to President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday, June 7, said the case fatality rate is much higher at 5.44 percent for patients who were 50 to more than 80 years old. "This is very high, almost 10 times the 0.42 percent case fatality rate for patients under 49 years old. This is why we have been repeatedly saying that senior citizens should be prioritized for vaccination," Duque said. There were 7,122 recoveries on Tuesday, bringing the total to 1,202,257, or 93.9 percent of the total. With recoveries much higher than the new cases, the number of active cases declined to 56,452, or 4.4 percent of the total case count. Duque said cases in the National Capital Region (NCR) have continued to slow down while those in other regions have increased. On June 7, he said the highest number of new cases was reported in Calabarzon at 1,049 out of the 6,539 cases posted on that day. The NCR reported 809 cases. Duque said he was hopeful that the cases in the NCR will continue to decline until the pre-surge level of less than 400 cases per day. The third highest number of new cases on Monday came from Western Visayas, at 692. Duque also said the national healthcare utilization rate increased to 50 percent on June 5 from 48 percent in the previous week. This was, however, lower than the rates posted during the peak period in April, he added. (Marites Villamor-Ilano / SunStar Philippines)  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| 9 village chiefs charged over Covid-19 superspreader events Posted: 08 Jun 2021 01:54 AM PDT NINE barangay officials have been charged over superspreader events that violated minimum public health standards. A document provided by Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año on Tuesday, June 8, 2021, identified the officials as:
Charges for dereliction of duty were filed against Rivera, Perez and Cadungog while charges for violation of Republic Act 11332, or Mandatory Reporting of Noticeable Disease and Health Events of Health Concerns Act, were filed against the others. Rivera has been meted 60 days preventive suspension which was implemented last Thursday, June 4, 2021. In his report to President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday, June 7, Año said the superspreader events were the: Gubat sa Ciudad incident in Barangay 171 in Caloocan City; Recreational Resort and Pool Operations in San Jose, Navotas City; boxing match in Tondo, Manila; Bakas River incident in Barangay Matictic, Norzagaray, Bulacan; gathering in Barangay Balabag, Boracay Island; Barangay Sambiray, Malay incident; and Club Holic Bar and Restaurant in Cebu City. (SunStar Philippines)  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| FDA approves Pfizer vaccines for 12 to 17 years old Posted: 08 Jun 2021 01:09 AM PDT THE Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has amended the emergency use authorization (EUA) issued to Pfizer-BioNTech for its coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccine to allow its use for individuals aged 12 to 17. The FDA directive amending the EUA was dated May 28, 2021. However, Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said adults will enjoy preference over adolescents because the vaccine supply remains low. "The general consensus of our vaccine experts is to revisit pediatric and adolescent vaccination once our vaccine supply has stabilized," she said. Vergeire earlier said children have the lowest risk of getting hospitalized for severe Covid-19. Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said vaccination of teenagers may start in the fourth quarter of 2021. "Nakikita po namin baka fourth quarter po [magsimula] kasi doon po dadagsa, may makukuha po tayo na mga Pfizer, Sinovac, at 'yung Moderna," he said. Covid-19 vaccines developed by Chinese firm Sinovac, and American firms Moderna and Pfizer are being administered to adolescents in some parts of the world. Vergeire earlier said the FDA will study the use of Sinovac vaccine in minors once its manufacturer submits a revision of its emergency use authorization in the Philippines. Galvez said the vaccination of around 29 million minors in the country is also important to achieve herd immunity and pave the way for the resumption of face-to-face classes in the country. (SunStar Philippines)  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Octa blames border control lapses for Covid-19 surge in regions Posted: 08 Jun 2021 12:52 AM PDT A FELLOW of independent research group Octa Research said the rise in coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases in some regions may be caused by lapses in border controls. "Most likely dahil 'yung mga border controls natin minsan may mga nakakalusot na travelers or ROF (returning overseas Filipino) na may dalang virus. Kahit naman maganda ang implementation natin nakakalusot pa rin. Isang tao lang ang may dalang virus pwede na siya makahawa ng marami," Dr. Guido David said in a television interview Tuesday, June 8, 2021. Based on Octa Research's report on Monday, June 7, 2021, Davao City has surpassed Quezon City in terms of new coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases. Davao City has a population of more than 1.6 million, around half of Quezon City's over 3.0 million population. David said new cases in Davao City averaged 213 a day in the last seven days, higher than Quezon City's 207 daily average. Davao City was placed under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) from June 5 to 20 because of the increasing number of cases. Davao City posted a 54 percent rise in infections to 206 cases for the period May 31 to June 6 from 134 cases in the previous week. During the same period, Koronadal's cases increased by 96 percent to 55 cases from 28. Dumaguete's growth rate is at 206 percent, Cotabato City at 62 percent and Bacolod at 60 percent. David said other areas of concern are the cities of Cagayan de Oro and General Santos in Mindanao; Bacolod and Iloilo in the Visayas; and Tuguegarao in Luzon. David said these areas have posted a continuous increase in positivity rate and hospital utilization rate. Octa has urged the government to include Covid-19 high-risk areas and hotspots as priority in the vaccination program. President Rodrigo Duterte has directed vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. to distribute the vaccines to these other areas. The government's priority areas for vaccination are the National Capital Region, Cavite, Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna, Pampanga, Metro Cebu and Metro Davao. Galvez said the one million doses of Sinovac vaccine that arrived on June 6 will be deployed in provinces considered as high-risk areas. (Third Anne Peralta-Malonzo / SunStar Philippines)  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Palace stands ground, diverts Mactan flights to NAIA for 1 more week Posted: 08 Jun 2021 12:15 AM PDT THE Office of the Executive Secretary has issued a memorandum extending the rerouting of international flights bound for Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) until 11:59 p.m. of June 12, 2021 to ensure that IATF arrival protocols will be "fully and seamlessly" implemented in Cebu. Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said they expect the arrival protocols set by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to be implemented in Cebu beginning June 13. "Inaasahan po natin na on the 13th of June (We expect that on the 13th of June), the IATF protocols on arriving OFWs and ROFs will be implemented in Cebu," Roque said. The new OES memorandum is deemed to be Malacañang's response to the insistence of Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia to enforce "innovative" arrival protocols that deviate from those set by the IATF. President Rodrigo Duterte had asked the Department of Health (DOH) to critique Cebu's arrival protocols, following a meeting with Garcia and other Cebu officials on May 31. On June 4, DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said they were standing firm in enforcing the IATF protocols in all regions. In his press conference Tuesday, June 8, Roque said the OES memorandum was issued on June 5, just before a previous memorandum diverting the flights from May 29 to June 5 lapsed, and after the DOH submitted its recommendation. Roque's announcement, however, came late as international flights returned to the MCIA on June 6. Airport officials enforced Cebu's testing and quarantine policies outlined in Garcia's Executive Order No. 17 and Provincial Ordinance No. 2021-04, which strengthens EO 17. Quoting the OES memorandum, Roque said the diversion of flights was extended to "ensure that, upon resumption of international flights to the MCIA, the travel and testing protocols approved by the IATF will be fully and seamlessly implemented." Under IATF protocols in light of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, arriving travelers except those fully vaccinated in the Philippines are required to undergo facility-based quarantine for 10 days. They will be swabbed and tested for the coronavirus on the seventh day. Even with a negative result, they must still complete 10 days in facility-based quarantine. After their release from quarantine, they will have to undergo four more days of home quarantine to complete the 14-day quarantine, which is equivalent to the known incubation period for Covid-19. Those who had been fully vaccinated in the Philippines will undergo facility-based quarantine only for seven days. A swab test will be conducted only if the traveler manifests Covid-19 symptoms. Otherwise, the traveler is released from quarantine after seven days and is urged to self-monitor. Under EO 17 and Provincial Ordinance 2021-04, however, overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs) are swabbed upon arrival at the MCIA. They will stay in a quarantine hotel only until the swab test results are released. If negative, they may go home and no other requirements will be imposed on them. A memorandum issued by Garcia on May 20, however, specifies that OFWs and ROFs will be swabbed twice, upon arrival and on the seventh day. If their swab test upon arrival yields a negative result, they will be allowed to proceed to their destinations and undergo home quarantine to complete the 14-day quarantine. They will be swabbed and tested for the virus on the seventh day by their LGU. The DOH has clarified that only the Day 7 swab test would be paid for by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, which takes care of all the testing and quarantine expenses of OFWs. For non-OFWs who are PhilHealth members, only the swab test on Day 7 would be subsidized by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation. (Marites Villamor-Ilano / SunStar Philippines)  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| LGUs told to find vaccinees, ensure they get 2nd dose Posted: 07 Jun 2021 09:13 PM PDT PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has ordered local government units (LGUs) to find the vaccine recipients who have not received their second dose and take steps to ensure that they get it. He said the LGUs should find out why some vaccinees have not gone back for their second dose. At the same time, he urged the vaccinees to follow instructions. "Hindi naman mahirap 'yan eh. You find time at your convenience na bumalik doon pumila at magpabakuna ng tinatawag nilang second booster. Iyon ang magbigay sa inyo ng more or less a good protection," Duterte said in a televised public address on Monday evening, June 7, 2021. The President issued the order around a week after Dr. John Wong, an epidemiologist for the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease said over a million vaccine recipients missed their second dose of the vaccine against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). Wong's statement, however, was refuted by the National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19, which cited data from the National Vaccination Operations Center showing that only 9.0 percent or around 113,000 have missed their second dose. As of June 6, a total of 4,421,319 have received one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. Of this number, 1,544,332 individuals have been fully vaccinated, having received two doses. A total of 5,965,651 doses have been administered since the vaccinations started on March 1. Meanwhile, Duterte said fully vaccinated individuals should still wear face masks and face shields, and observe physical distancing and other minimum health protocols. "Although it would give you a measure of protection, it does not guarantee you will not get Covid again. In spite of your vaccine, please observe the basic protocols," he said. He said infectious persons who refuse to isolate themselves and follow health protocols may be charged with reckless imprudence. "If he knows that he is sick with Covid-19, and he goes about nonchalant, papasyal pasyal ka lang diyan. You are - maybe if it is intentional, malayo iyan. Pero it could be murder, sabi ni Sal. At iyang reckless imprudence, mas swak doon sa sitwasyon na iyon," Duterte said. Chief Presidential Counsel Salvador Panelo said those who refuse to follow health protocols may also be charged with resistance or disobedience to authorities aside from violation of Republic Act No. 11332 or the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act. Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año reported that 50,021 persons have been arrested for not wearing face masks, 613 for mass gatherings and 13,882 for non-observance of physical distancing. Over 1,700 were charged in court. (Third Anne Peralta-Malonzo / SunStar Philippines)  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| FDA approves Sinopharm vaccine Posted: 07 Jun 2021 07:50 PM PDT THE Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted an emergency use authorization (EUA) for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccines donated by Sinopharm. FDA Director Eric Domingo reported to President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday, June 7, 2021, that the EUA was granted earlier Monday. The Sinopharm vaccine has also been granted an emergency use listing (EUL) by the World Health Organization. It is recommended for adults 18 years and older, in two doses. Sinopharm vaccines are already being used in 42 countries worldwide, including Algeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Hungary, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Peru, the United Arab Emirates, Serbia and Seychelles. The Sinopharm vaccine was administered to members of the Presidential Security Group last year, even if it was not authorized for use yet in the Philippines. Investigation is still ongoing. On May 3, Duterte received his first dose of the Sinopharm vaccine, which was then covered by a compassionate use permit. On May 20, Domingo said Department of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III wrote FDA, saying they were willing to accept vaccine donations from Sinopharm. (Third Anne Peralta-Malonzo / SunStar Philippines)  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Fewer new cases as 7 labs fail to report output Posted: 07 Jun 2021 02:19 AM PDT AFTER reporting around 7,000 cases and over 100 deaths daily for four straight days, the Department of Health (DOH) on Monday, June 7, 2021, recorded 6,539 new coronavirus infections and 71 additional mortalities. The new cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) were fewer as seven laboratories were unable to report their testing output to the Covid-19 Document Repository System on June 5. These labs accounted for 5.4 percent of positive results and 3.1 percent of samples tested in the last 14 days. In its case bulletin Monday, the DOH recorded a total of 1,276,004 Covid-19 cases in the country. Thirteen duplicates, including 10 recoveries, were removed from the total count. Of the 71 additional mortalities, 21 cases were previously tagged as recoveries, just a fifth of the over 100 reclassified cases in the previous four days. The additional mortalities raised the death toll to 21,969. The case fatality rate remained at 1.72 percent. There were also 6,969 recoveries, which brought the total to 1,195,181, or 93.7 percent of the total case count. With recoveries a bit higher than the new cases, the number of active cases declined slightly to 58,854, or 4.6 percent of the total case count. The daily positivity rate remained high at 13.3 percent out of the 45,047 samples tested on June 5. DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, in a press conference earlier Monday, said they were mapping out the health system capacities of the regions, especially those with a high number of Covid-19 cases. "Titingnan natin kung ano po 'yong mga kakulangan nila. Actually, nakapagpadala na po tayo ng mga kagamitan, ng mga PPEs, ng mga gamot at saka mga pondo po inihahanda na rin para maibigay sa ating mga ospital na nangangailangan sa ngayon," Vergeire said. The DOH is also assessing the need to deploy medical workers to the regions with surging cases. Vergeire said they have to make sure that there would also be enough medical workers left in the National Capital Region (NCR). She noted that while cases are declining in the NCR, the hospitals are still in the moderate risk level. "In any case...if DOH can't send medical workers from NCR to the regions, we will identify ways and means to help the hospitals in the regions that need assistance," Vergeire said. (Marites Villamor-Ilano / SunStar Philippines)  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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