News Roundup 13 September 2020
Sep 13, 2020 • 4 min Read
DOTr to implement reduced physical distancing in all public transport |PHILSTAR.COM – Physical distancing between commuters inside public transportation will be reduced from 1-meter to .75 meter starting Monday as part of a move to “optimize” physical distance between commuters, the Department of Transportation said. The department added that it would still be requiring masks and face shields before allowing commuters on board, along with strictly implementing “no talking and answering calls” policies on public transportation amid the new shift. The World Health Organization recommends maintaining a minimum of one metre apart from others amid the coronavirus-induced quarantines. With the protocol shift, the department said the public utility vehicles can serve more passengers.
Robredo on easing of distancing rule inside PUVs: Nakabase ba ito sa siyensa? | INQUIRER.NET – Vice President Leni Robredo on Sunday questioned the scientific basis of the government’s decision to allow the easing of physical distancing inside public utility vehicles (PUVs). “Iyong sa akin lang, nakabase ba ito sa siyensiya?” Robredo said during her weekly radio program. “Masaya tayo na iyong public transport, magkakaroon na ng mas marami, kasi ang dami na talagang nagtitiis—hindi lang iyong mga drivers, pero pati iyong mga pasahero. Pero sana nakabase pa din sa siyensiya iyong pagdedesisyon,” she added. Last week, the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious Disease approved the proposal of the Economic Development Cluster (EDC) and the Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) to gradually reduce the required physical distance between passengers from 0.75 meters starting Monday, Sept. 14, to 0.5 meter to 0.3 meter within the succeeding weeks.
Robredo questions data on COVID-19 hospital admissions | Manila Bulletin – Vice President Leni Robredo on Sunday expressed alarm that less number of critical and severe cases of coronavirus disease are admitted in the country’s hospitals. Robredo cited recent data from the Department of Health (DOH) which bared that only 275, or about 26 percent, of the 1,048 critical COVID-19 cases were only getting treatment from hospitals as of September 11. This means 773 critical coronavirus cases were not admitted to hospitals. Robredo also noted 149 of 702 severe COVID-19 cases were not confined in hospitals. “Noong lumabas iyong naunang datos, parang more than 50 percent sa mga namatay, namatay na wala sa ospital. So gustong sabihin, baka kung nakatanggap sana ito ng tamang medical intervention, baka hindi sana namatay,” she said on her radio show. (When the first data came out, it seemed more than 50 percent of those who died were not in hospitals. So this means, if they were given proper medical intervention, they could have survived.) ”So maraming tanong, bakit ganito? Mayroong pagkukulang iyong protocols natin, kasi iyong ating target naman from the very start na at least iyong severe saka critical ay nasa ospital dapat,” Robredo added. (So we have a lot of questions, why is it like this? Our protocols are not enough, because our target from the very start is at least the severe and critical cases must be admitted in hospitals.) On Sept. 12, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases was over 250,000, with 4,292 deaths. The Philippines recorded 186 deaths, its highest in a single day, on the same day.
Zarate to PCOO exec: Make accusations under oath | The Manila Times – BAYAN Muna party-list Rep. Carlos Zarate on Saturday dared Presidential Communications Operations Office Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy to substantiate her accusations under oath that militant lawmakers were linked to the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA). This as the House deputy minority leader denied that he was a member of CPP-NPA and believed that Badoy’s rants were a desperate attempt to divert the issue of the “generals’ pork” under the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict. Badoy is trying to extricate herself “from the mess she is now deeply buried in with her terrorist witch-hunting,” Zarate said in a statement. “Hers is a farcical dare and a classic fascist trick of placing the burden instead on us whom she publicly accused of being terrorists to prove our innocence,” he said. “Make your accusations under oath but make no mistake about it because you will be made accountable by your malicious accusations. Your desperation is now apparent just to divert the issue from the more than P19-billion generals’ pork,” Zarate added.
