News Roundup 18 November 2021
Nov 18, 2021 • 4 min Read
PH records over 1K new COVID-19 cases | Manila Bulletin – More than 1,000 people have tested positive for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the Department of Health (DOH) said on Thursday, Nov. 18. The DOH said that the country logged 1,297 new cases of the viral disease, pushing the country’s running tally to 2,821,753. Of the overall tally, 23,158 cases remain active where at least 58.5 percent of them have mild symptoms, 4.1 percent were asymptomatic, 19.96 percent have moderate symptoms, 12.2 percent were severe cases, and 5.2 percent were in critical condition. The DOH also reported 305 new deaths causing the fatality count to jump to 46,422. Also, 1,956 new COVID-19 survivors were reported, raising the recovery count to 2,752,173. “Itatak sa ating puso at isip ang kahalagahan ng pagsunod sa minimum public health standards at pakikiisa sa pambansang pagbabakuna. Ang mga ito ang magliligtas sa atin laban sa COVID-19 (Let’s put in our hearts and minds the importance of following the minimum public health standards and participating in national immunization. These will save us against COVID-19),” the DOH said. “Kasabay nito ang ating pagiging alisto sa mga sintomas. Sa oras na makaramdam ay agad makipag-ugnayan sa BHERTS [Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams] o sa One COVID Referral Center (At the same time, we have to be alert to the symptoms. As soon as you experience symptoms, contact BHERTS or the One COVID Referral Center immediately),” it added.
Robredo visits De Lima in Camp Crame | Manila Bulletin – Presidential aspirant Vice President Leni Robredo paid a visit to detained Senator Leila De Lima on Thursday, Nov. 18, in Camp Crame. De Lima’s office released a photo of Robredo visiting her at the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center on Thursday morning. “At around 11:30AM earlier today, Robredo visited De Lima at her detention quarters at the PNP Custodial Center, inside Camp Crame,” said a post on De Lima’s official Facebook page. The Vice President posed with the “D5” handsign being used by De Lima who is seeking reelection under her senatorial slate for the 2022 polls.
Robredo’s promise: P216B for ayuda in first 100 days | INQUIRER.NET – Vice President Leni Robredo is looking at setting aside P216 billion from the government’s coffers if she is elected president in the May 2022 national elections to fund the “ayuda” or social aid for families affected by lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Robredo shared during the 47th Philippine Business Conference and Expo hosted by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday that if she wins, her first 100 days will address the most pressing problem today — the COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn that left people jobless and hungry. “In our first 100 days, we will focus on addressing our most urgent problem—controlling the pandemic and mitigating its impact on our people’s lives […] We will set aside P216 billion in the national budget for ayuda distribution to protect families from hunger and provide them with their basic needs without being forced to go to work,” Robredo said. Additionally, she said, the healthcare system should be strengthened so that the poor are not burdened with expenses when they become ill. Robredo noted that this can be done by taking care of healthcare workers to ensure that the country’s health system would be robust while strengthening COVID-19 testing and vaccination efforts — plans she mentioned in her Freedom from COVID-19 program. “This means increasing support for our healthcare workers, improving hospital capacity, and making COVID testing more accessible to more Filipinos. We will ensure vaccines for all and increase the capacity of Local Health Units to allow them to dispense vaccines on their own,” Robredo said. “We will start stockpiling different COVID treatment medicines and deploy them to areas where there are shortages. We will also accelerate the rollout of Universal Health Care by concentrating on enrolling every Filipino in the UHC system in the first 3 months. While people are signing up, we will start partnering with local health service providers to deliver health services,” she added. “All of these can be done only if we rebuild trust in our institutions—and that’s exactly what we are going to do. We will put our house in order and restore confidence in the Philippine government,” she said. “We will continue to engage all of society in rebuilding our nation and making the lives of all Filipinos better, safer, healthier, and more secure,” she explained.
Palace denies reports that Vince Dizon has joined Isko Moreno’s team | PHILSTAR.COM – Malacañang Thursday denied that government pandemic response adviser Vince Dizon has joined the camp of presidential aspirant and Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, saying he remains a “working member” of the Duterte Cabinet. Lito Banayo, Moreno’s campaign strategist, revealed last Wednesday that Dizon works as deputy campaign manager and statistical research head of the Manila mayor’s team. Dizon, a former president of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), is reportedly involved in Moreno’s imaging and has hosted some of the mayor’s meetings. “There is no truth to the reports circulating that Secretary Vivencio “Vince” Dizon allegedly joined the campaign team of a presidential aspirant,” Cabinet Secretary and acting presidential spokesman Karlo Nograles said in a statement.
