News Roundup 30 March 2021
Mar 30, 2021 • 3 min Read
Philippines logs 9,296 more coronavirus infections, caseload now at 741,181 | PHILSTAR.COM – The Philippines on Tuesday recorded 9,296 additional COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of infections to 741,181.
- Active cases: 124,680 or 16.8% of the total
- Recoveries: 103, pushing total to 603,310
- Deaths: 5, bringing total to 13,191
‘ECQ Plus?’ IATF meets on Saturday, but Roque says extension is ‘last resort’ | PHILSTAR.COM – The government’s coronavirus task force will meet on Saturday to discuss whether the Enhanced Community Quarantine status of Metro Manila and four nearby provinces will be extended. The government reverted Metro Manila, Laguna, Rizal, Cavite and Bulacan to ECQ for a week, until April 4, as COVID-19 cases spike. The Department of Health however said this period is too short for effects to be seen. “Those who are asking if the ECQ will be extended, the [Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases] is thoroughly thinking about it and on Saturday, Black Saturday, we will have a meeting to finalize what will happen,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in Filipino on Tuesday. Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the DOH recommended for an extension. “But of course, we need to balance it off with the economy that’s why we need to have enough basis for us to have this extension,” she added in an interview. Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez, in the same briefing, said the IATF is open to the recommendation to extend the ECQ period. He noted that they will consider whether there would be an “exponential increase” in new COVID-19 cases in deciding whether they will extend the ECQ period.
VP Robredo most qualified to be next PH president, says Drilon | INQUIRER.NET – Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Tuesday said the Liberal Party (LP) considers Vice President Leni Robredo as the most qualified to be the Philippines’ next president. “Right now, there is no question that Vice President Leni Robredo, to us, is the most qualified to be the next president,” Drilon, vice chairman of the LP, said in an interview on ABS-CBN News Channel Tuesday. But whether or not Robredo decides to run is a matter of personal decision, according to the minority leader. “She is our [chairman], we will support her but the matter of running is a personal decision and up to this point, Vice President Leni has not decided to cast her hat in the national political ring,” he said. Robredo has repeatedly parried questions on her plans for the 2022 elections, saying that addressing the pandemic should prioritized. She said she and her office remain committed to assisting the country in combating the COVID-19 pandemic amid the surge in cases.
OVP’s Swab Cabs conduct free COVID-19 testing in Malabon | Manila Bulletin – The Office of the Vice President (OVP) has started on Tuesday, March 30, the conduct of its free mobile antigen service in Malabon City to boost the local government units’ testing capacity for the coronavirus disease.
In a Facebook post, Vice President Leni Robredo announced that 419 residents from the city’s five barangays were swabbed, with 24 of them testing positive for COVID-19 as of 1 p.m. The OVP deployed three Swab Cabs to barangays Longos, Potrero, Tonsuya, Tañong and Flores. This project includes 3,040 care kits and 3,000 rapid antigen swab test kits. The care kits consist of face shields and face masks. During the first few hours of the rollout, tests were done within an average of two minutes. Robredo’s office closely coordinated with the Malabon city government throughout the process, in particular for next steps for COVID-19 positive cases. “The BHERTs of the respective barangays are already doing aggressive contact tracing. Those who turned out positive will be isolated already,” she said. BHERTs are the Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams, which are tasked to visit houses, trace cases, and oversee the transfer of infected residents in isolation facilities. “LGU Malabon is scheduled to do confirmatory RT PCR tests tomorrow. At least, yung nag positive na, na isolate na ngayon (those tested positive are isolated now). And they will remain isolated until the RT PCR tests are out and until they have completed the required protocols,” Robredo added.
