News Roundup 09 April 2020
Apr 09, 2020 • 2 min Read
Quezon City vows to start COVID-19 community tests next week | INQUIRER.NET – Quezon City’s community-based testing for COVID-19 infection will start next week, the city’s health officials announced Thursday. The local government’s health department chief, Dr. Esperenza Arias, said they are looking to start with an initial 1,300 tests in areas with the highest concentration of COVID-19 cases.
DepEd Secretary Briones tests positive for COVID-19 | PHILSTAR.COM – Education Secretary Leonor Briones tested positive for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), making her the second Cabinet member to contract the highly contagious disease that has infected more than 3,000 people in the country. In a statement released by the Department of Education on Thursday, Briones, 79, said she received her test results on late afternoon of April 8.
Volunteer lawyers, OVP to provide free legal assistance | Manila Bulletin – A group of volunteer lawyers, including human rights lawyer Chel Diokno, are providing free legal assistance amid the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon. In a Twitter post Thursday, Diokno said the group is working in partnership with the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and law students in launching VALOR-19, which stands for Volunteers and Lawyers Organized for the Rule of Law, to respond to the people’s urgent legal questions in the time of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. According to the group’s Facebook page, the topics covered in the consultation range from enhanced community quarantine, government assistance, human rights, labor and employment, and online free speech.
LGUs outside Luzon can implement community quarantine – Palace | The Manila Times – Local government units (LGUs) in the Visayas and Mindanao can implement enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) “if they deem it necessary,” a Palace official said on Wednesday. Cabinet Secretary Karlo Alexei Nograles said LGUs have the discretion to place their respective areas under ECQ to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
