News Roundup 14 January 2022
Jan 14, 2022 • 4 min Read
Philippines reports record 37,207 new COVID-19 cases | PHILSTAR.COM – The Philippines on Friday reported 37,207 new coronavirus cases, the highest single-day tally since the start of the pandemic. Friday’s tally beat the previous record of 34,021 cases logged on Thursday. The additional infections brought the country’s total caseload to 3,129,512. Of the figure, 265,509 are currently sick. The death toll rose to 52,815 after 81 more patients died, while recoveries increased by 9,027 to 2,811,188. According to the Department of Health, 98% of the additional cases occurred from January 1 to January 14. The regions with the most number of infections in the recent two weeks were Metro Manila (46%), Calabarzon (23%) and Central Luzon (11%). The positivity rate was 47.3% out of 81,737 tests. The rate was way above the 5-percent threshold of the World Health Organization for opening economies. Eight laboratories did not submit data to the DOH.
Robredo prefers beating Marcos in polls instead of disqualification | PHILSTAR.COM – If Vice President Leni Robredo had her way, she would rather beat her political rival, former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., in the upcoming elections instead of him being disqualified as a presidential candidate in the May polls. “If you were to ask me, I would rather beat him in the elections to finally put an end to all this,” Robredo said in Filipino over CNN Philippines’ “News Night” on Thursday. What Robredo wants an end to is the debunked narrative that she cheated her way to win over Marcos Jr. in the 2016 vice presidential race. “He needs to be defeated in the upcoming elections so that once and for all his pushing of a narrative to the people can be stopped,” she said. Marcos, son and namesake of the deposed late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, is facing four disqualification petitions before the Commission on Elections, three of which argue that he cannot run for public office as he was convicted in 1995 of tax evasion.
Less tracing, no mass testing equal ‘complete surrender’ to COVID-19, says Escudero | INQUIRER.NET – The move of the Department of Health (DOH) to shift its COVID-19 response policies by lowering the priority for contact tracing and altogether doing away with mass testing is a “complete abdication and surrender,” Sorsogon governor and senatorial aspirant Francis Escudero said Friday. Escudero said contact tracing and mass testing are necessary to isolate and treat people infected with the coronavirus and prevent the spread of the disease. “What the DOH is doing is not a ‘COVID-19 response strategy’ but a complete abdication and surrender. It’s a strategy of ‘if you can’t beat them, join them,’” Escudero said in a statement. “This is big mistake and a costly one,” he added. Health Secretary Francisco Duque III earlier said it was impractical to do contact tracing when there is already widespread and sustained community transmission. Health Undersecretary Ma. Rosario Vergeire, meanwhile, said that contact tracing was “not that much prioritized anymore” since there is very high likelihood that at least one member of Filipino households have tested positive for COVID-19.
Prelate says church lockdowns must only be the last resort | Manila Bulletin – The Diocese of Novaliches said this in the guidelines which was released on Thursday, Jan. 13 amid the surge in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the country. “In our Diocese of Novaliches lockdowns must be our parish’s last resort, i.e., to contain the spread of the virus,” it said. “This should only be done as the last resort and in response to grave threats to people’s health and safety particularly those living within the confines of the church building itself and its immediate vicinity, and as so ordered by the government following the existing LGU protocols on community. lockdowns,” it added. Before placing a parish church under lockdown, the parish pastor or administrator must inform and even seek counsel from the Bishop and/or in his absence, from the Vicar General for Administration, or the Vicar Forane for proper pastoral processing, validation and official communication. Unless asked or ordered by the government, the diocese said “no general diocesan lockdown should henceforth be expected.” “This inasmuch as not all parishes are not exactly situated similarly but rather and in fact differently situated,” it said. The diocese said unless ordered by the government, parishes should remain open even if only partially, all in the service of the people. It added that onsite masses can be more strictly regulated, their number per day even limited, and church attendance restricted but “onsite masses should not be totally ruled out or absolutely suspended.” The diocese said if they are to be suspended, it should only be for a “determined and even shorter period of time, i.e., within seven days max.” “But even so, churches should be open during the day and remain accessible to people who might simply want to pass by or come visit and pray,” it said. “An area can be specifically designated for the purpose and a person assigned thereto in order to monitor and ensure that its environmental condition and situation is constantly at par with health safety standards,” read the guidelines. The guidelines, which was approved by Novaliches Bishop Roberto Gaa, may be accessed at the Facebook page of the diocese.
