News Roundup 04 January 2022
Jan 04, 2022 • 4 min Read
Philippines logs 5,434 new COVID-19 infections; active cases at nearly 30K | PHILSTAR.COM – The Department of Health reported Tuesday 5,434 additional COVID-19 infections, the highest single-day rise since October 23, bringing the number of active cases to nearly 30,000. Of the newly-reported cases, 99% occurred in the last 14 days. Most of the cases were reported in Metro Manila, Calabarzon and Central Luzon. The positivity rate was at 26.2%, based on 24,855 samples processed on Sunday. The World Health Organization recommends that positivity rate should remain at 5% or lower before countries reopen. The DOH also logged 18 deaths, raising total fatalities to 51,604. Meanwhile, the number of recoveries increased to 2,779,706 after 611 new recoveries were recorded. Since the start of the pandemic, the Philippines has confirmed over 2.86 million COVID-19 cases. Currently, there are 29,809 active cases. Of the figure, nearly 91% were mild and moderate.
SC suspends Gadon, tells lawyer to explain why he should not be disbarred | INQUIRER.NET – The Supreme Court preventively suspended lawyer and senatorial aspirant Larry Gadon following his verbal assault on a journalist. “The call of the public did not fall on deaf ears, and the Court immediately took action,” the high court said in a statement released by the Public Information Office. The suspension order is contained in a resolution released Tuesday; the high court motu proprio (on its own) treated the controversy as a formal administrative complaint for disbarment against Gadon. Gadon has 10 non-extendible days to file his comment “in consideration of the numerous prior controversies leading to the disbarment cases filed against Gadon, and the most recent viral video where he displayed the same controversial behavior despite previous warnings.” In December last year, Gadon posted a video of himself cursing and insulting South China Morning Post’s Manila Correspondent Raissa Robles after she tweeted about the tax case of presidential aspirant Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos. His rants were laden with expletives, which the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (Focap) described as “unbecoming conduct.” The high court ordered the Office of the Bar Confidant to submit an updated list of the pending administrative cases against Gadon within 10 days from receipt of the resolution. The high court also gave the IBP 10 days upon receipt of the resolution to submit the status of admin cases against Gadon that is pending before them. Focap called the high court and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines “to discipline this wayward member of the Bar.” Meanwhile, when asked for his reaction on the latest Supreme Court resolution, Gadon told reporters in a Viber message that he will issue a statement once he receives a copy of the resolution.
Robredo: OVP’s Swab Cab resumes operations in QC on January 5 | INQUIRER.NET – The Swab Cab project – the mobile free COVID-19 testing initiated by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) – will resume operations on Wednesday, January 5, at Barangay Tandang Sora in Quezon City. This was announced by Vice President Leni Robredo on her personal Facebook account on Tuesday, saying the free antigen test service would run from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Robredo also clarified that walk-ins are allowed for the mobile COVID-19 testing. “We are rolling out our Swab Cab services again this week, in partnership with the Quezon City LGU and our Angat Buhay partners. Bukas, nasa Brgy. Tandang Sora ang team natin, kung saan magsesetup tayo ng libreng mobile antigen swab center service,” she said in a post of Facebook. “Pwede pong mag-walk-in, mula 8AM hanggang 5PM,” she added. After Barangay Tandang Sora, Robredo said the Swab Cab would be at the Quezon City Circle in the coming days. However, at the Quezon City Circle, she noted that people who want to be tested for COVID-19 would have to sign up first and wait for confirmation. “Sa susunod naman na araw, nasa QCX site, Quezon City Circle ang ating Swab Cab. May pre-registration through the LGU ang rollout natin doon, at kailangan po muna mag-sign up at maghintay ng confirmation through this link: http://bit.ly/QCfreetest,” Robredo said. Robredo again reminded the public to be mindful and continue observing health protocols against COVID-19, as the country sees a rapid rise in infections after the holiday season.
PNP starts inspecting quarantine hotels | Manila Bulletin – The Philippine National Police (PNP) has started conducting random visits to quarantine hotels in Metro Manila following the controversy brought by a returning Filipino from the United States who allegedly skipped mandatory quarantine and even attended a party with friends. PNP chief Gen. Dionardo Carlos the move is to ensure that returning Filipinos who are supposed to be under quarantine are indeed complying with the rules of the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID). Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año earlier tasked the PNP to conduct random and surprise inspection on quarantine hotels, as well as other business establishments after Metro Manila was placed under Alert Level 3 which was reinforced by the resolution of Metro Manila Council which restricts the movement of unvaccinated individuals. “This will give the PNP the authority to intensify our inspection of these establishments since there is a directive from the DILG. These inspection rounds will be unannounced and shall be conducted randomly to determine which establishments are compliant with public health protocols,” said Carlos. “Let this be a warning that there is no room for complacency during this health emergency,” he added.
