News Roundup 22 April 2020
Apr 22, 2020 • 2 min Read
Gov’t urged to ensure protection of fishers, farmers from impacts of COVID-19 | PHILSTAR.COM – The Commission on Human Rights called on the government to ensure that those who put food on people’s tables—farmers and fisherfolk—will receive assistance as the country battles the novel coronavirus. The quarantine measures put in place to slow the spread of the virus has made it tough for farmers and fishers—among the country’s poorest sectors—to sell their products. The implementation of travel restrictions and curfew schedules also limited their ability to tend to their farms and catch fish.
Military enforcement of ECQ? Hontiveros says health should be ‘in command’ | INQUIRER.NET – Instead of deploying more military personnel to enforce quarantine measures, Senator Risa Hontiveros said the government should lean towards a “stronger health enforcement” to encourage the public to stay inside their homes.
Increased heat, humidity in Manila to continue until Thursday, says PAGASA | Manila Bulletin – The sweltering heat in Metro Manila continued on April 22, Wednesday, with the heat index soaring to 42 degrees Celsius shortly before 2 p.m, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA). PAGASA said warm and humid weather conditions will persist on April 23, Thursday, as the ridge of high pressure area and easterly winds remain the dominant weather systems across the country.
IATF rules out total lockdown | The Manila Times – The government has ruled out the imposition of a total lockdown beyond April 30, Malacañang said on Tuesday, a day after health experts recommended to President Rodrigo Duterte a modified enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease. “Wala kasi sa vocabulary namin ‘yung total lockdown (Total lockdown is not in our vocabulary),” Cabinet Secretary Karlo Alexei Nograles, who is also the spokesman of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), said.
