News Roundup 05 January 2022
Jan 05, 2022 • 5 min Read
Philippines reports 10,775 new COVID-19 cases | PHILSTAR.COM – COVID-19 cases in the country continue to balloon as the Department of Health registered 10,775 new infections on Wednesday. The figure was the highest single-day tally since October 10, when the DOH reported 12,159 additional cases, and comes after the daily case tally dropped to three digits toward the end of 2021. According to the health department, 99% of the reported cases occurred from December 23 to January 5. Most of the infections were from Metro Manila, Calabarzon and Central Luzon. The positivity rate was 31.7% out of 44,643 tests. This was way above the five-percent threshold of the World Health Organization to indicate that the spread of the virus is under control. The DOH also reported 58 additional fatalities, raising the death toll to 51,662. Meanwhile, recoveries increased by 605 for a total of 2,780,109. Since the start of the pandemic, the Philippines has confirmed over 2,871,745 cases.
Robredo’s office rolls out free antigen tests anew amid COVID-19 spike | PHILSTAR.COM – The office of Vice President Leni Robredo is offering free antigen tests again in response to the spike in new COVID-19 cases in the country presumed to be driven by the more infectious Omicron variant. “Swab Cab,” a mobile COVID-19 testing hub in partnership with the local government of Quezon City, Angat Buhay of Robredo’s office and UBE Express, was relaunched Wednesday along Tandang Sora Avenue corner Visayas Avenue Extension in Quezon City. The mobile testing hub was open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Out of the 410 people screened for COVID-19 as of 1:20 p.m., 191 of them turned out positive for the virus. The Swab Cab’s next stop is at QCX in Quezon Memorial Circle on January 6. Those who wish to get tested must pre-register. Robredo’s office first rolled out Swab Cabs during a coronavirus surge in March 2021. Robredo’s free testing initiative comes as there are renewed calls for free mass testing — appeals which the government still does not want to heed. Nearly three years into the pandemic, Philippine regulators have yet to approve cheap, self-test antigen kits which many developed countries already use to test for COVID-19, forcing Filipinos to pay between P3,800 to P5,000 for an RT-PCR test and up to P960 for an antigen test. The Swab Cab is just one of the many projects the Robredo’s office undertook as a response to the pandemic, which include the local production of personal protective equipment, the provision of transportation and accommodation to healthcare workers, free teleconsultations, and the vaccination of essential workers in partnership with local governments. Robredo is also calling for more volunteers for her office’s free teleconsultation service, Bayanihan E-Konsulta, which was first launched in April 2021.
Robredo: OVP’s telemed project gets 400 slots filled within minutes on Jan 5 | INQUIRER.NET – Vice President Leni Robredo revealed that the maximum daily capacity of her office’s telemedicine project got filled within minutes on Wednesday. In a Facebook livestream on Wednesday evening, Robredo explained they limited the day’s capacity of Bayanihan E-Konsulta to 400 slots because they were undermanned. Launched in 2021 with the private sector partners of the Office of the Vice President (OVP), the Bayanihan E-Konsulta is a volunteer-driven operation that gives access to possible COVID-19 patients access to medical professionals for consultations. Robredo said that a few minutes after Bayanihan E-Konsulta opened at 8 a.m. Wednesday, all 400 slots have been taken. “And ngayon nagka-cap kasi kami ng 400 cases a day, dahil syempre volunteers lang ‘yong aming doctors, ‘yong aming nurses, hindi kakayanin ‘yong dami ng pasyente,” she explained. “So nagka-cap kami ng 400 cases, kanina lang ng umaga, ‘pag open namin ng 8 a.m., in a few minutes naka-400 cases na kami. So nagsara na siya,” she added. Robredo apologized to people who have been trying to secure consultation slots through the Bayanihan E-Konsulta, saying they are operating on a thin workforce as many OVP staff members contracted COVID-19.
‘Magpatawad kayo’: Robredo calls out spreaders of fake news | Manila Bulletin – Purveyors of fake news should instead help in her coronavirus response initiatives than spreading disinformation about her on social media, Presidential aspirant Vice President Leni Robredo said on Wednesday, Jan. 5. In a live video on her Facebook page, Robredo shot back at those behind the fake news that her second daughter Tricia violated quarantine protocols after she tested positive for COVID-19. “Sa akin, wala na iyon pero sana naman sa panahon na ganito, magkaisa tayo (For me, that’s gone but I hope in a time like this, let us unite),” she said. “Kahit hindi nyo ako gusto, kahit iba gusto nyo, wala naman kaso iyon. Basta sa pagtulong sa kababayan natin, magtulong tulong tayo kasi pare-pareho naman iyon gusto natin, di ba (Even if you don’t like me, even if you like another, there’s no issue. But when it comes to helping our fellowmen, let us help one another because that’s what we all want, right),” Robredo added. According to certain posts circulating on social media, one of which was that of former broadcaster Jay Sonza, Tricia supposedly skipped quarantine and instead went home. “Sabi mo Madam, dapat walang palakasan. Bakit iyong anak mong dumating derecho sa bahay, hindi dumaan sa Quarantine Protocol (You said Madam, there should be no favors. Why did your daughter who just arrived went home straight, she did not go through Quarantine Protocol)?” Sonza asked in a Facebook post. But the Vice President denied such claims and tagged it as fake news and a criminal act. She then asked those behind the false information to instead join her Bayanihan E-Konsulta telemedicine service as volunteers.
