News Roundup 27 December 2021
Dec 27, 2021 • 3 min Read
Uptick in COVID-19 cases possibly temporary, no cause for concern yet — OCTA | PHILSTAR.COM – The recent uptick in coronavirus cases may not yet be a cause for concern and should not yield an increase in restrictions for the time being, the OCTA Research Group said Monday. Speaking at the Laging Handa briefing Monday, OCTA Research fellow Guido David said that the full picture of the coronavirus situation was not clear yet as the uptick could only be temporary. The Department of Health earlier Monday also acknowledged what it said was an uptick in cases in Metro Manila’s cases and positivity rate after the capital region registered positive growth in COVID-19 cases in the past week at 49%. “It could just be a holiday uptick. After the holidays, possibly the number of cases and the positivity rate will go down…In a way it was expected because the same thing happened last year due to the holidays,” David said in mixed Filipino and English. “Because of the increase in reproduction number, NCR is now classified as low risk from very low risk,” he also said in a tweet though he was careful to clarify that these were based on metrics set by nonprofit Covid Act Now, not the same ones employed by the DOH and coronavirus task force.
US sends additional P50M in aid for ‘Odette’-hit areas | INQUIRER.NET – The United States is providing an additional P50 million to aid communities affected by Typhoon Odette in the Philippines. Through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Washington is extending another round of assistance following the onslaught of the typhoon earlier this month. The P50-million funding is on top of the initial assistance provided by the U.S. last Dec. 22 to support the Philippine government’s relief efforts. The additional assistance will provide logistics support to transfer humanitarian workers and relief supplies to communities devastated by Typhoon Odette, according to a statement released by the U.S. Embassy in Manila on Monday. In partnership with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), the new funding from the USAID will provide logistics and emergency telecommunications support in typhoon-affected areas, the embassy said. WFP will set up four emergency logistics hubs in Surigao del Norte for storing and distributing relief supplies, it added.
Villanueva to DOH: COVID-19 bulletins remind people to be more careful | Manila Bulletin – Following a Department of Health (DOH) announcement that it would no longer issue COVID-19 bulletins, Senator Joel Villanueva said that government should not let its guard down if we want to progress in the reopening of the economy. ‘’While the incidence of COVID is currently low, we must continue to be vigilant and encourage the public to continuously monitor COVID information,’’ Villanueva, chairman of the Senate Labor committee, said. ‘’These daily COVID bulletins are a reminder to the public that the problem is not yet over and that we must continue to be careful and practice safety protocols,’’ he stressed. ‘’What we’ve learned in this pandemic is that despite all our efforts to inform the public, there will always be gaps in the dissemination of the information,’’ he explained. ‘’DOH should always ensure that there is accurate and timely information on COVID to help people make the right decision. We can’t let our guard down if we want to progress in the reopening of the economy,’’ he added.
DOH records 318 new COVID-19 cases | Manila Bulletin – The Department of Health (DOH) recorded on Monday, Dec. 27, an additional 318 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases. This update brought the country’s total tally of COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic to 2,838,792. DOH said that active cases stood at 9,579 or 0.3 percent of the total number of cases. Among this number, 3,644 were mild, 3,339 were moderate, 1,777 were severe, 445 were asymptomatic while 374 were in critical condition. The agency also reported 255 new recoveries bringing the total tally to 2,778,002 or 97.9 percent of the total number, while 11 more have died bringing the death toll to 51,211 or 1.80 percent of the total number of cases. On the other hand, DOH said that it will no longer issue COVID-19 case bulletins starting Jan. 1, 2022.
