News Roundup 21 July 2020
Jul 21, 2020 • 4 min Read
Coronavirus cases soar past 70,000 after DOH logs 1,951 more patients | PHILSTAR.COM – Health authorities logged 1,951 more patients of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on Tuesday, bringing the national caseload to 70,764. In its latest tally on Tuesday afternoon, the Department of Health also tacked on two more deaths and 209 additional recoveries, bringing their totals to 1,837 and 23,289, respectively. Accounting for recoveries and deaths, the number of active cases in the country stands at 45,646.
Involuntary hunger among Filipino families climbs to 20.9% in July — survey | PHILSTAR.COM – An estimated 5.2 million Filipino families found themselves without food to eat at least once in the past three months, new survey data suggests. According to a new survey by the Social Weather Stations, 20.9% of Filipinos experienced involuntary hunger at least once, 15.8% of which were categorized as having experienced moderate hunger, while 5.1% were described as going through severe hunger. The survey also showed a trend of rising hunger: for the month of July, hunger was up by 4.2 points from 16.7% in May, and by a total of 12.1 points from 8.8% in December 2019. “Moderate Hunger rose from 13.9% in May 2020 to 15.8% in July 2020. This is the highest since the 17.6% (est. 3.8 million families) in September 2014. Severe Hunger rose from 2.8% in May 2020 to 5.1% in July 2020. This is the highest since the 5.4% (est. 1.2 million families) in June 2013,” the survey report read. Hunger was highest in the Visayas (27.2% estimated 1.3 million families) and Mindanao (24.2% or some 1.4 million families) while hunger incidence was “higher among households of non-elementary graduate respondents.” The survey, SWS said, interviewed 1,555 adult Filipinos via mobile phone and computer-assisted telephone interviewing and with sampling error margins of ±2% for national percentages, ±6% for Metro Manila, and ±5 for Balance Luzon, ±5% for the Visayas, and ±5% for Mindanao.Respondents were asked: “Nitong nakaraang tatlong buwan, nangyari po ba kahit minsan na ang inyong pamilya ay nakaranas ng gutom at wala kayong makain?” (In the last three months, did it happen even once that your family experienced hunger and did not have anything to eat?)
Locsin curses, swipes Pangilinan over ‘favored’ imported virus test kits remarks | INQUIRER.NET – Foreign affairs chief Teodoro Locsin Jr. has lashed out at Senator Francis Pangilinan after the latter questioned why the government seemed to prefer imported test kits over locally-made ones that supposedly have to undergo a rigid evaluation. Pangilinan, in a statement on Monday, implored the Department of Health (DOH) to explain the purported delay in the use and mass production of Filipino-made test kits. He even pointed out that the COVID-19 test kits developed by the University of the Philippines are 50 percent cheaper than the imported ones.
Use of virgin coconut oil in managing COVID yields ‘very promising results’ — researchers | Manila Bulletin – Two researchers said the use of virgin coconut oil (VCO) has yielded “very promising” results in preventing and managing COVID-19 cases. Ateneo de Manila professor Fabian Dayrit and Equilibrium Integrative Health Clinic Medical Director Dr. Jose Rey Mondejar tested VCO’s effectiveness among COVID-19 patients in Sitio Zapatera, Barangay Luz in Cebu City. After two weeks of trial, Mondejar said 45 out of the 69 patients tested negative in their Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests. While the other 24 did “not progress to moderate or severe” cases. Mondejar was tapped by a warden from the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) to implement a COVID management program in the facility as well. When Mondejar started the program for the facility last April 25, he initially recommended an intake of 1 tablespoon of VCO twice a day for three days per person. He then increased the dosage of VCO to three times a day. Mondejar noted that the CPDRC has been COVID free for six weeks already. Dayrit, for his part, said there is already evidence that VCO can help in preventing COVID-19 because it has anti-viral properties. VCO, according to Dayrit, is extracted from fresh coconut meat. The ADMU professor advised the public to buy VCO products that passed the Philippine National Standard.
Reveal true identities of cremated drug lords | The Manila Times – The Department of Justice (DoJ) on Monday ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to look into the alleged death from the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) and cremation of at least nine high-profile drug lords, who had been held at the National Bilibid Prisons (NBP) in Muntinlupa City. The DoJ order was apparently aimed at determining if indeed the identities of these convicted drug lords were true and there was no foul play or any irregularity committed such as switching identities with those of dead inmates. Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director Gerald Bantag met with Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Monday and was asked to prepare a report on the real cause of the death of the high-profile detainees.
