VACCINE TRACKER TO BE LAUNCHED THIS WEEK – PALACE
MANILA — The government is expected to launch this week a vaccine tracker that will trace the progress of its COVID-19 inoculation program, Malacañang said yesterday.
“On Wednesday, we will launch our vaccine tracker. Let’s wait for it,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque confirmed.
He added 1.4 million more doses of Sinovac jabs might be delivered to the country this month, while Novavax vaccines and other orders are scheduled to arrive by April. Documents for the emergency use application (EUA) of Russian vaccine Sputnik V have also been completed.
DOJ SET TO SIGN NEW DEALS WITH MANILA WATER, MAYNILAD
MANILA — The Department of Justice (DOJ) is set to sign new deals with Manila Water and Maynilad Water Service after it has settled major issues in the draft revised water concession agreements with the two firms.
At yesterday’s Laging Handa press briefing, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said the water concession agreement review committee threshed out the major issues in the accord, but a follow-up meeting is still needed on Wednesday.
“We would have another meeting, so I suppose if there are any leftover minor points, we would be able to iron them out on Wednesday. After that, we shall be ready to sign a new water concession agreement with Manila Water and this would be followed with a discussion with the other concessionaire, Maynilad,” Guevarra said.
AUSTRALIA TO PROCEED WITH ASTRAZENECA COVID-19 VACCINE DESPITE PAUSE IN EUROPE
SYDNEY - Australia has no plans to halt the use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said Tuesday, as several European countries paused administering the vaccine after reports of possible serious side-effects.
Frydenberg said the European medicines regulator and the World Health Organization had confirmed that the AstraZeneca PLC vaccine was effective and safe to use.
"So we will continue to proceed with the vaccine rollout of AstraZeneca," Frydenberg told Sky News.
Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Cyprus joined several other European nations in temporarily suspending vaccinations with AstraZeneca shots after isolated reports of bleeding, blood clots and low platelet count.
WHO said there have been no documented deaths linked to COVID-19 vaccines and that people should not panic.
The majority of Australia's 25 million people will be inoculated with the AstraZeneca vaccine and authorities have secured nearly 54 million doses, with 50 million to be produced locally from the end of March.
29 SUFFER SIDE EFFECTS FROM SINOVAC
BUTUAN CITY — Twenty-nine healthcare workers in Caraga region reportedly experienced adverse effects after getting vaccinated with Sinovac, the Department of Health (DOH) said yesterday.
“A total of 29 adverse events following immunization (AEFI) cases were recorded in the last six days. This is only .9 percent of the total number of individuals vaccinated with Sinovac,” DOH-Caraga chief Jose Llacuna Jr. said in a statement.
Among the side effects experienced by the healthcare workers were headache, dizziness and rashes, Llacuna said.
“The range of the side effects we are seeing now are common effects of the vaccine,” he said.
Only one vaccine recipient remains under management and monitoring by local health authorities.
“Cases were managed accordingly with four admissions, wherein three have been sent home immediately after receiving treatment and the other is currently stable and subjected for further work up and management. All discharged AEFI cases have recovered,” Llacuna said.
A total of 3,252 healthcare workers in Caraga have been vaccinated since March 7.
Llacuna urged local government units and hospital officials to monitor and immediately report possible adverse effects experienced by healthcare workers who received the COVID vaccine.
MANILA LOCKS DOWN 6 BARANGAYS
MANILA — The Manila city government will place six barangays under lockdown for four days to help contain the spread of COVID-19, Mayor Isko Moreno announced yesterday.
Moreno issued an executive order placing Barangays 185 (Zone 16, Tondo 2), 374 (Zone 38, Sta. Cruz), 521 (Zone 52, Sampaloc), 628 (Zone 63, Sta. Mesa), 675 (Zone 74, Paco) and 847 (Zone 92, Pandacan) under lockdown beginning tomorrow until March 20.
He ordered the Manila Barangay Bureau to enforce lockdowns in villages with 10 or more active cases of COVID-19 and conduct disease surveillance, contact tracing, swab tests as well as rapid risk assessment.
According to the city health department data, Barangay 185 has 11 active cases, Barangays 374, 628 and 847 have 10 each, Barangay 521 has 12 and Barangay 675 has 22.
Moreno said enhanced community quarantine guidelines would be implemented in these barangays declared as “critical zones” during the lockdown period.
Police station commanders covering these barangays were directed to deploy personnel to enforce health and safety protocols.
PROTOCOL BREACH, INCREASED MOBILITY, VARIANTS BEHIND COVID-19 SURGE IN PH - DOH
MANILA - Breaches in health protocols, increased mobility of people and presence of different coronavirus variants are among the factors driving the sharp rise of COVID-19 infections in the Philippines, a health official said Tuesday.
"In terms of transmission rate, there are breaches in the health protocols that we are implementing," Dr. Beverly Lorraine Ho, director of Department of Health's disease prevention and control bureau, told ANC.
"We can't also discount that the variants have an effect on increase of transmission rate."
"Also, you'll see that because of the gradual opening up that we've been undertaking, we have seen there are more interaction, more mobility among the population that will inevitably drive the increased contact rates," she added.
On Monday, the Philippines recorded an additional 5,404 new COVID-19 cases, the fourth highest reported in a day since the pandemic started, raising the country's tally to 626,893.
COMELEC: PALAWAN PLEBISCITE RESULTS OUT WITHIN THE WEEK
MANILA - Results of a plebiscite that seeks to divide Palawan into 3 provinces could be announced within the week, a poll official said Tuesday.
Commission on Elections spokesperson James Jimenez, in an interview with ANC, said the poll body had already canvassed votes cast in 18 of 23 municipalities.
"Well, we've already canvassed I think 18 out of 23 and we are scheduled to reconvene today at 2 p.m. So, I imagine that we are really close to proclamation now,” he said.
"Could be within the week, could be today," he added.
Votes rejecting the proposed split were leading, according to initial canvassing of plebiscite results as of Monday.
Jimenez estimated the voter turnout to be more than 60 percent.
DUTERTE SPOKESMAN CATCHES COVID-19
MANILA — The face of the government’s pandemic task force is now part of COVID-19 statistics.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque announced yesterday that he has contracted COVID-19 but vowed to continue performing his functions, including reminding the public to observe measures that would protect them from the disease.
Roque, also the spokesman for the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), said he learned about the positive result of his RT-PCR test minutes before his noontime virtual press briefing. The test was conducted last Sunday in preparation for a meeting with President Duterte yesterday.
“As of 11:29 this morning, I got the result and I tested positive for COVID,” said Roque, who held the press conference from his office at Malacañang.
“You need to undergo quarantine if you had a close contact with me,” he added.
Roque claimed he did not have close interaction with President Duterte so the 75-year-old leader need not isolate himself.
He said he was with the President last week during an event in Dumaguete, where they witnessed the inauguration of port and airport projects.
“I was negative for the Dumaguete trip and I did not have any close contact with the President. I was not able to come close to him, just from afar,” he said.
Roque said he has not experienced COVID-19 symptoms but was inclined to go to a quarantine facility because his wife has a comorbidity or an existing illness.
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STOCK MARKET COLLAPSES ON LOCKDOWN
MANILA — The stock market collapsed yesterday as investors, spooked by new lockdowns on the first anniversary of last year’s quarantine measures and the spike in the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the country, decided to pack their bags and steer clear of the local bourse.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Composite index plunged by 176.09 points to settle just above the 6,500-point level at 6,552.46.
Likewise, market jitters were also felt in the broader All Shares index as it nosedived by 109.71 points to close at 3,949.87.
The sectoral gauges incurred heavy losses as well, marking another red letter day for the stock market in what might be an omen of things to come for the bourse for the rest of the week.
Total value turnover reached P9.225 billion. Market breadth was notably negative with 207 losers against 28 gainers, while 32 issues were left unchanged.
Traders said while investors also liquidated their holdings to rechannel these to the upcoming public listing of Edgar “Injap” Sia II’s DDMP REIT, the main reason is the growing concerns of market investors on new quarantine measures which could signal again a slowdown in the economy.
“The market collapsed as the possibility of a hard lockdown gets higher and higher as the days go by. Increased selling pressure coupled with a lack of buying at current levels caused most blue chips to take substantial losses,” Chris Mangun of AAA Equities said.
MORE QUAKES RECORDED IN TAAL
MANILA — Taal Volcano in Batangas continues to show “increased unrest” with 252 volcanic tremors recorded in the past 24 hours.
Of the 252 volcanic earthquakes detected, 17 have durations of one to four minutes, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.
On Sunday, Phivolcs recorded 74 volcanic quakes around the volcano.
Sulfur dioxide emission was recorded at an average of 518 tons on Saturday, it said.
The agency said an upwelling of high temperature volcanic gases at the lake’s surface was observed between 6:30 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. on Sunday.
These parameters, Phivolcs said, may indicate increased magmatic activity at shallow depths beneath the volcano.
The agency maintained Taal’s status at Alert Level 2, which means “increased unrest.”
BELMONTE: COVID-19 INFECTIONS IN QUEZON CITY TRANSMITTED AT WORK
MANILA — The Quezon City government has identified the workplace as a COVID-19 hotspot as more than 100 fresh cases were found to have contracted the virus at work.
Data from the City Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance Unit (CESU) showed that 104 or 14 percent of 722 COVID-19 cases from Feb. 28 to March 13 were transmitted in workplaces.
The infections then spread in households, making homes the most common setting for virus exposure with 256 cases, according to the CESU.
“Reports showed that household transmission stems from one member of the household acquiring the virus from his workplace,” Mayor Joy Belmonte said.
Belmonte said the local government would check the compliance of workplaces with health protocols.
METRO MANILA PROHIBITS MINORS FROM GOING OUTDOORS FOR 2 WEEKS
MANILA - Minors in Metro Manila are prohibited from going outside beginning Wednesday as COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the capital region, officials said.
The Metro Manila Council has decided to allow only residents aged 18-65 outside their homes, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said in a statement.
Metro Manila mayors last month agreed ease age restriction and allow those aged 15 to 65 outside their homes.
"We are implementing age restrictions because of the increase in our COVID-19 cases," MMDA chairman Benhur Abalos said.
"We encourage everyone to strictly observe and practice the minimum health protocols, and be extra careful and follow stringent measures particularly when around vulnerable family members, as there have been reports of transmission among family members."
'NO CLOSURE': RAMON ANG SAYS SKYWAY STAGE 3 TO STAY OPEN
MANILA - San Miguel Corp will not close the Skyway Stage 3 project, its president Ramon Ang said Tuesday, following a discussion with Transport Secretary Arthur Tugade.
When asked if the company is not closing the elevated highway, Ang said: "Yes, no closure.
Motorists have been using the 18-km Skyway Stage 3 elevated highway since January 14, 2021.
On Monday night, SMC announced it had “no choice but to comply" with an order issued by the Toll Regulatory Board to indefinitely close Skyway Stage 3 until all ramps are completed.
The TRB, however, denied that it had issued a decision or order for the closure.
"This is to inform the public that the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) DID NOT ISSUE a decision or directive ordering the indefinite closure of the Skyway Stage 3 starting 5 p.m. of 16 March 2021," the agency said in a statement.
"We never issued any directive for any closure. I think that matter is now set aside and resolved so our motorists can enjoy Skyway Stage 3," TRB spokesperson Julius Corpuz told ANC.
QUARANTINE FATIGUE BLAMED FOR SPIKE
MANILA — Health Secretary Francisco Duque III admitted that the spike in COVID-19 cases is alarming, and blamed it on “quarantine fatigue” and a breach in minimum public health standards.
“And to a certain degree but not absolutely determined as of yet, the possibility of the variants contributing to the surge and then the loosening up of many quarantine restrictions and opening of the large part (of the economy),” he added.
Last Sunday, the OCTA Research Group projected that some 8,000 daily cases may be recorded by the end of the month.
In response, Duque called on local government units to step up efforts to contain the spread.
“They have to strengthen all interventions they have done quite successfully in controlling the pandemic in the earlier or middle of 2020,” he added.
ONE YEAR INTO LOCKDOWN, CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC FATIGUE GRIPS PHILIPPINES
It’s a never-ending cycle of worry, uncertainty, and cabin fever. Now, pandemic fatigue is gripping more Filipinos, endangering the general public’s mental health.
This is evident in the increase of calls to helplines, fully-booked consultation schedules, and rise in activities that seek to combat stress.
Psychologist Randy Dellosa said Filipinos have grown “sick and tired of trying to consider as a ‘new normal’ what in reality is an obvious ‘abnormal.’’
“Simply put, pandemic fatigue is the physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion of having to endure the whole experience of the coronavirus pandemic,” Dellosa told ABS-CBN News.
This arises from a human’s natural desire to stick to his routine, which was abruptly destroyed by the COVID-19 health crisis, said Dellosa.
Now, estimates show some 3.6 million Filipinos are suffering from mental health problems, but it is harder to paint the full picture as access to healthcare professionals remain a challenge.
Based on the national prevalence study on mental, neurological and substance use disorders reported by National Mental Health Program by Frances Prescilla Cuevas, at least 1,145,871 people are suffering from depressive disorder.
Up until October 6, the National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) received around 32 to 37 calls since March 17, raising the monthly average calls to 907. Data from October onwards are unavailable as of posting.
ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE
KTX TO STREAM JASMINE CURTIS-SMITH AND JC DE VERA'S NEW MOVIE 'GENERAL ADMISSION'
MANILA – The movie “General Admission” starring Jasmine Curtis-Smith and JC de Vera will become available for viewing soon.
According to their respective posts, the film will stream on KTX.ph starting April 9 with a special screening on March 23.
“Here. We. Go,” wrote Curtis-Smith on Instagram as she shared the film’s hand-drawn poster.
De Vera, for his part, shared the film’s trailer while inviting his followers to purchase tickets now which are already available via the streaming platform.
According to its official synopsis, “General Admission” follows Katja (Curtis-Smith), a member of the sexy dance group who has a wardrobe malfunction on a noontime show.
She and her boyfriend Carlito (de Vera) find themselves at the center of a media circus that eventually results in a brutal and very public murder.
Aside from Curtis-Smith and de Vera, the movie also features Nanette Inventor, Rosanna Roces, Angelina Kanapi, Vangie Labalan, Archie Adamos and Brian Sy.
“General Admission” was helmed by Jeffrey Hidalgo.
This is not the first time Curtis-Smith and de Vera have worked together. In 2015, they were part of the cast of the Star Cinema movie "Halik sa Hangin," the romance-thriller headlined by Gerald Anderson and Julia Montes.
SPORTS
NBA SCORES MARCH 14
FINAL
1 2 3 4 T
Grizzlies 17-18 31 31 38 22 122
Thunder 17-22 28 27 35 38 128
SCORING LEADERS
J. Morant MEM
22 PTS, 1 REB, 7 AST
S. Gilgeous-Alexander OKC
30 PTS, 4 REB, 5 AST
FINAL
1 2 3 4 T
Jazz 28-10 22 32 32 33 119
Warriors 20-19 33 34 28 36 131
SCORING LEADERS
D. Mitchell UTA
24 PTS, 0 REB, 4 AST
S. Curry GS
32 PTS, 5 REB, 9 AST
FINAL
1 2 3 4 T
Spurs 19-16 22 30 21 26 99
76ers 27-12 33 27 46 28 134
SCORING LEADERS
D. Eubanks SA
17 PTS, 9 REB, 2 AST
T. Harris PHI
23 PTS, 9 REB, 7 AST
FINAL
1 2 3 4 T
Heat 21-18 22 26 25 29 102
Magic 13-26 19 26 32 20 97
SCORING LEADERS
J. Butler MIA
29 PTS, 7 REB, 9 AST
N. Vucevic ORL
38 PTS, 10 REB, 6 AST
FINAL
1 2 3 4 T
Cavaliers 14-24 22 24 20 16 82
Hawks 19-20 26 23 20 31 100
SCORING LEADERS
C. Sexton CLE
15 PTS, 2 REB, 1 AST
J. Collins ATL
22 PTS, 12 REB, 1 AST
FINAL
1 2 3 4 T
Celtics 20-18 38 28 38 30 134
Rockets 11-26 34 19 19 35 107
SCORING LEADERS
J. Brown BOS
24 PTS, 2 REB, 0 AST
V. Oladipo HOU
26 PTS, 6 REB, 4 AST
FINAL
1 2 3 4 T
Trail Blazers 22-16 20 29 23 40 112
Timberwolves 9-30 24 23 29 38 114
SCORING LEADERS
D. Lillard POR
38 PTS, 7 REB, 4 AST
A. Edwards MIN
34 PTS, 4 REB, 2 AST
FINAL
1 2 3 4 T
Clippers 25-15 24 33 26 32 115
Pelicans 17-22 36 31 43 25 135
SCORING LEADERS
K. Leonard LAC
23 PTS, 5 REB, 2 AST
Z. Williamson NO
27 PTS, 2 REB, 5 AST
FINAL
1 2 3 4 T
Raptors 17-22 22 27 24 22 95
Bulls 17-20 28 30 27 33 118
SCORING LEADERS
N. Powell TOR
32 PTS, 4 REB, 5 AST
P. Williams CHI
23 PTS, 6 REB, 4 AST
INDICATORS
FOREX $1 = P 48.54
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Once you’ve accepted your flaws, no one can use them against you. - Tyrion Lannister
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