News Roundup 01 May 2020
May 01, 2020 • 2 min Read
Gov’t changes mind, bans religious gatherings in areas under GCQ | PHILSTAR.COM – Religious meetings and other events that draw big crowds are still prohibited even in areas placed under less stringent lockdowns, Malacañang said Friday, a reversal of its previous announcement that stirred up concerns on social distancing. In a televised press conference, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the revised guidelines were issued in response to complaints from local government officials who flagged infection risks, as social distancing measures would be “impossible” to enforce during mass gatherings.
Govt OKs partial resumption of POGO operations | INQUIRER.NET – The country’s coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) inter-agency task force has allowed Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) to partially operate. Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) Chairman and CEO Andrea Domingo confirmed this to INQUIRER.net
Pangilinan urges gov’t to rush aid to workers | Manila Bulletin – As the country observes Labor Day today, opposition Senator Francis N. Pangilinan said the government needs to speed up urgent as well as long-term help for the 2.2 million Filipinos rendered jobless by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak and the subsequent halt in most economic activities. “Kakaibang Araw ng Paggawa ngayon, di pwedeng mag-sama-sama at magdiwang ang mga nagbabanat ng buto sa mga factory, office, at kalsada, maging sa mga bukid, dagat, at construction site. Dahil sa ECQ, 2.2 milyon na ang nawalan ng kinabubuhay, kabilang na ang tinatayang 200,000 na OFWs (overseas Filipino workers),” Pangilinan said. (This Labor Day is odd because workers in the factories, offices and even those in the fields, seas and construction sites cannot meet to celebrate. Because of COVID-19, some 2.2 million have lost their jobs, including the 200,000 OFWs.)
France helps RITM | The Manila Times – France has chosen the Philippines’ Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) as one of seven frontline laboratories in Southeast Asia to benefit from the €2-million grant that it allocated to address the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic in the region. The French Embassy in Manila said the French Development Agency (AFD) allotted the additional funding to its Ecomore 2 initiative to support the Covid-19 responses of seven frontline laboratories in five Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines. Ecomore 2 stands for Economic Development, Ecosystem Modifications and Emerging Infectious Diseases Risk Evaluation, which aims to support frontline laboratories in the fight against the Covid-19 in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines and Vietnam.
