Responsive Ad Slot

Latest

Sponsored

Features

Buhay Pinay

People

Sports

Business Ideas for OFWs

Join us at Facebook!

3 more Filipinos die of Covid-19 in PH, raising total tally to 5

Posted on 13 March 2020 No comments
By The SUN

RITM in Alabang, where the Filipino couple died of  Covid-19 a day apart

Three new deaths from the coronavirus disease or Covid-19, were reported in the Philippines late on Mar 12.

The Department of Health said the fatalities include a 62-year-old Filipino man and his 59-year-old Filipina wife, the first known local transmission cases in the country. They both died at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in Muntinlupa City.

The third is an 88-year-old Filipina who died shortly after being admitted to the Philippine Heart Center in Quezon City. She tested positive for Covid-19 only the day before.
The couple, known as the fifth and sixth cases, died less than a week after being diagnosed with the disease.

The fatalities are among the Philippines’ 52 cases of Covid-19 as of this writing. They brought to five the total number of deaths in the country.

The other day, a 67-year-old woman died at Manila Doctors Hospital, becoming the first Filipino fatality from the disease, and the second in the country.
A 44-year-old man from Wuhan who died on Feb 1 at the San Lazaro Hospital in Manila was recorded as the Philippines’ first known death.

The couple who died on the same day were residents of  Cainta, Rizal, who frequented a Muslim prayer hall in Greenhills, San Juan City. Another couple who worshipped at the same place with them has both been infected by the virus.

The fatalities had no recent travel history, leading to the conclusion that they had been infected locally.
According to the DOH, the woman suddenly experienced breathing difficulty and was intubated late on Mar 11. She died shortly afterwards from acute respiratory distress due to severe pneumonia.

Her husband, who was hypertensive and a diabetic, expired the next day also from severe pneumonia secondary to Covid-19.

The third fatality also had no travel history outside the Philippines. The elderly woman had hypertension, and her cause of death was listed as acute respiratory failure.
 
The first Filipino fatality succumbed to the virus hours after being admitted to Manila Doctors
The woman who died a day earlier reportedly had high fever on Feb. 29 but refused to go to a hospital for treatment. She was diagnosed with Covid-19 only on Mar 11, and died within hours.

Her husband, a well-known economist, is also in hospital because of the virus. He acted as a resource person in a Senate hearing on Mar 5, prompting some senators and other people present at the session to undergo self-quarantine.
The couple also had no recent travel history abroad. They reportedly caught the virus when they attended a wake at a church in Forbes Park, Makati City.

Two other people at the wake who had just flown in from abroad, also tested positive for the disease.

The 16 new cases reported on Mar 11 was the highest single-day tally in the Philippines, which saw a spike in cases only four days earlier.

Among the new cases involved a private doctor residing in Quezon City who apparently fell ill after treating a patient with the disease.

DOH records show 794 patients have been examined for possible infection since the outbreak started in late January this year. Of this number, 68 remain in various hospitals, where at least three are said to be in serious condition. The rest have been discharged.


---
I-try mo ito, Kabayan: Kung interesado kang ma-contact ang mga advertiser namin dito, pindutin lang ang kanilang ad, at lalabas ang auto-dialer o kanilang website. Pindutin ulit and auto diaoer upang tumawag. Hindi na kailangang pindutin isa-isa ang mga numero.












Bill creating OFW department in Phl hurdles House

Posted on No comments
By The SUN

The House of Representatives voted 173-11 to pass the bill creating the OFW Dept

A bill creating a separate department in the Philippines for overseas Filipino workers has been passed by the House of Representatives on third and final reading.

The lower chamber voted 173-11, with no abstention, on Wednesday, Mar 11, to pass House Bill 5832, which seeks to create the Department of Filipinos Overseas and Foreign Employment.

It was the last measure the members of the House voted on before going on their Lenten break.
The bill states that the new department will serve as the primary agency that will protect the rights and welfare of OFWs, through such measures as regulating deployment and pursuing illegal recruitment cases.

Two similar bills are currently pending at the Senate.

If a consolidated bill is approved by the Senate and signed into law by the President, the department will be led by a Secretary along with five undersecretaries with several functions - administration and finance, foreign employment, diaspora engagements and special concerns, assistance to Filipinos overseas in distress, and policy agreements.

Pindutin pra sa detalye!

The department will take over the functions of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, the Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers' Affairs of the Foreign Affairs Department and all Philippine Overseas Labor Offices under the Labor Department, among others. It will also oversee the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration as its attached agency.
 
The new department will take over POEA, OWWA, OUMWA and all Phl labor offices abroad
House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, one of the bill’s principal authors, said the proposed law will address the problems of OFWs including physical and sexual abuse, illegal recruitment and human trafficking. It will address inadequate safety nets for displaced workers and rude treatment from embassy staff.
The department will also have the power to prosecute cases, particularly those involving human trafficking and illegal recruitment, in coordination with quasi-judicial bodies.

Opponents of the proposed legislation said, however, that it will only institutionalize labor export and duplicate the functions of existing agencies.

“This department does not add any protection to OFWs aside from expediting the exodus to foreign employment,” Rep. Edcel Lagman (Albay) said.
Rep. Gabriel Bordado (Camarines Sur) said instead of duplicating the functions of DOLE and OWWA, the government should focus on creating job opportunities for Filipinos in the country.

“Creating localized, long-term employment opportunities for our citizens will ultimately be more beneficial to the economy and citizens who have no other choice but look at other countries for better job opportunities,” Bordado said.


---
I-try mo ito, Kabayan: Kung interesado kang ma-contact ang mga advertiser namin dito, pindutin lang ang kanilang ad, at lalabas ang auto-dialer o kanilang website. Pindutin ulit and auto diaoer upang tumawag. Hindi na kailangang pindutin isa-isa ang mga numero.

Metro Manila put under ‘community quarantine’ Mar 15 – Apr 14

Posted on 12 March 2020 No comments
By Daisy CL Mandap

President Duterte announcing Metro Manila's isolation at a news briefing a few hours ago

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered a “community quarantine” for Metro Manila for a month starting on Sunday, Mar. 15, amid the mounting number of coronarivus infections in the country.

He issued the order during a news conference late today, Mar 12, after announcing that Code Red sublevel 2 had been raised in the country because of the contagion, indicating a community spread.

The unprecedented move is being taken as most of the Covid-19 cases, which number 60 as of this writing, have occurred in Metro Manila or the National Capital Region, which is made up of 16 cities and with a population of 12.87 million.

Pindutin para sa detalye!

President Duterte based his pronouncement on a proposed resolution approved by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emergency Infectious Diseases during its meeting earlier today, but he said he intended to turn it into an executive order for more weight.

He also said the effective lockdown of the country’s seat of government will be reviewed on a daily basis not only by the IATF and his Cabinet, but also by the military chiefs.

“In a total breakdown, I will need their help,” he said, but added this was not an indication of a militarized government. “Huwag kayong matakot, sundalo ninyo ang mga yan.”
The resolution provides that all land and domestic air and sea travel to and from Metro Manila, will be suspended for 30 days starting Mar 15, or until Apr 14.

International travel will continue, but no foreigners from countries with “localized transmission” will be allowed to enter the Philippines. Going by the definition of the term, this will exclude most countries where there has been a mass outbreak of Covid-19.

However, all mass public transportation within the NCR, including the MRT, LRT and the PNR, will continue operating, subject to guidelines to be issued by the Department of Transportation “to ensure social distancing.”
 
Duterte meets with Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian before announcing the lockdown
Also in line with the resolution, classes in all levels will continue to be suspended until Apr 12, but students are expected to “continue to fulfill their educational requirements.”

For areas outside Metro Manila, the local government units will decide whether class suspensions are necessary.

Local officials are also empowered to impose a barangay quarantine if at least two different households have been stricken with Covid-19; a municipal quarantine if two separate barangays are infected; and provincial quarantine if at least two municipalities are affected.

There is also a prohibition against mass gatherings, but the resolution does not specify how big a group should be to fall within the restriction.

The resolution further provides that work in the executive branch shall be suspended but government agencies shall form a skeletal workforce “to maintain unimpeded delivery of services to the public.”

PRESS FOR MORE INFO

No mention was made of the two other branches of government, but both houses of Congress and the Supreme Court have already announced a suspension in their work and services.

The Senate has shut down indefinitely after one of its resource persons in a hearing on Mar 5 tested positive for Covid-19. The speaker is said to be the husband of the woman who died yesterday, just hours after being diagnosed with the pneumonia-like disease.

The House of Representatives has already adjourned for its Easter break.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has declared that all hearings will be suspended from Mar 13-18.
Privately owned companies are enjoined to implement a flexible work arrangement for their employees, in accordance with guidelines to be issued by the Department of Labor and Employment and the Department of Trade and Industry.

The new government measure includes one positive note for overseas Filipino workers from China who have been stranded since the Philippines imposed an outbound travel ban on Feb. 2. All of them, except those who are based in Hubei, will now be allowed to return to their jobsites.

The resolution on measures to contain the pandemic was drafted and approved by the Inter-Agency Task Force during its meeting earlier in the day.

The IATF members who endorsed it were Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo V. Ano, Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guvarra, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Brigido J. Dulay


---
I-try mo ito, Kabayan: Kung interesado kang ma-contact ang mga advertiser namin dito, pindutin lang ang kanilang ad, at lalabas ang auto-dialer o kanilang website. Pindutin ulit and auto diaoer upang tumawag. Hindi na kailangang pindutin isa-isa ang mga numero.


Phl reports 2nd death from Covid-19

Posted on 11 March 2020 No comments
By The SUN


Six of the 16 new cases are foreigners, according to health officials
UPDATE
By The SUN

The Philippines reported its second fatality from the deadly novel coronavirus disease or Covid-19, late today, Mar. 11.

The patient has been identified as a 67- year-old Filipina who had no travel history outside of the Philippines and had no interaction with anybody who tested positive. 

She was identified by the Health Department as patient no 35 who was admitted at the Manila Doctors Hospital.

Various reports said she was admitted to the hospital on Feb. 29 but was diagnosed as having Covid-19 only earlier today. Her case was among the 16 new ones reported, which brought the total tally in the country to 49.

The first death from the disease involved a 44-year-old Chinese man from Wuhan city in central China, where the new coronavirus was first detected. He died at the San Lazaro Hospital in Manila a few  hours before his death was reported on Feb. 2.

Today saw the highest number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in a single day since a new spike in detection started on Mar 8.

According to Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte, among the new cases is a private doctor residing in the city, who apparently fell ill after treating a patient with the disease. He’s said to be the fourth confirmed case in the city.



“Yung ika-apat, sa aking pag-tingin, sa aking pag-unawa, parang nahawa siya sa paga-alaga din ng mga pasyente, ‘yun ang nakikita ko,” she reportedly said. 

(“The fourth one to my understanding, was infected because he was looking after some patients, that’s how I see it”).

Health Assistant Secretary Ma. Rosario Vergeire who announced the new cases in a press briefing, said the recent surge in cases was due to findings of a localized transmission and more stringent surveillance measures by the government.

She said that six of the new cases involved foreign nationals, but she had no additional information on the patients except for their gender and age.

She also said all hospitals are required to admit all persons under investigation (PUIs) for suspected Covid-19 infection.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the same thing in a talk with reporters afterwards, saying hospitals that turn away coronavirus patients may face sanctions, like being stripped of their license or accreditation with PhilHealth, the national insurance agency.
Both were responding to questions about a memo issued by The Medical City in Pasig on Mar 10 which said it would no longer accept PUI cases as its “currently available manpower will be unable to care for any additional patients.”

The memo from Dr. Karl Henson, director of the hospital’s Infection Control and Epidemiology Center, said the Medical City is already attending to three confirmed cases and several admitted PUIs.

Dr Vergeire also advised the public to beware of misinformation, including one that supposedly came from DOH advising everyone to stock up two weeks’ worth of food and other supplies because Metro Manila could be put under lockdown soon.

“That’s fake news,” she said, adding that a lockdown would only be resorted to if there is an indication of an extensive community-wide transmission of the disease.

She also dismissed as unverified a report of two students at the elite Ateneo de Manila University being taken ill with the virus.

Dr Vergeire said that the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in Alabang, Muntinlupa City, is now able to test for Covid-19 up to 600 people in one day, compared to just 100 previously.

Duque says community transmission could already be happening
During a hearing at the House of Representatives earlier, Secretary Duque said there is a possibility that community transmission of Covid-19 could already be taking place.

"I have said time and again that it's going to be a very real occurrence over the very short term," he said.

But right now, Dr Duque said the cases point only to a localized transmission, meaning the disease is being passed on among people within the Philippines

"What we have now is localized transmission in the areas we have earlier mentioned. But the situation can very quickly progress into a community transmission, which means, there could be a larger area of affected communities," Duque told the House Committee on Health.

On Feb 2, Dr Duque reported the first two cases, a couple who flew into the country from Wuhan City. A third patient who arrived from Shezhen was reported as the third case a few days later. 

The 42-year-old Chinese male in the first two cases reportedly died at the San Lazaro Hospital in Manila within 24 hours of being diagnosed, becoming the first recorded fatality in the Philippines.

On Mar 9, President Rodrigo Duterte signed Proclamation 922 declaring a state of public health emergency throughout the country amid the worsening outbreak, and ordered all schools in Metro Manila to close down until this weekend.


---
I-try mo ito, Kabayan: Kung interesado kang ma-contact ang mga advertiser namin dito, pindutin lang ang kanilang ad, at lalabas ang auto-dialer o kanilang website. Pindutin ulit and auto diaoer upang tumawag. Hindi na kailangang pindutin isa-isa ang mga numero.
Don't Miss