Modified IATF guidelines allow some businesses’ full ops

Modified IATF guidelines allow some businesses’ full ops By Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos

MANILA – The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) has revised the guidelines for the nationwide community quarantine to allow more businesses to operate at full capacity.

The revisions were adopted by the IATF-EID through its Resolution 38 inked on May 22, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a press statement on Saturday.

IATF-EID Resolution 38, which contains the fresh guidelines, authorizes the full operation of public or private hospitals; health and emergency frontline services; and manufacturers of medicines, medical supplies, devices and equipment in areas under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), modified ECQ (MECQ), and general community quarantine (GCQ). The IATF-EID also allows industries involved in agriculture, forestry, and fishery, as well as those rendering delivery and courier services that are transporting food, medicine and other essential goods to operate at full capacity in ECQ, MECQ and GCQ zones. | May 23-29, 2020 56

Private establishments involved in the provision of essential goods and services, media establishments, establishments offering utility relocation work and specified limited works are allowed to operate at a maximum of 50 percent in areas under ECQ and at full capacity in places under MECQ and GCQ, according to the fresh guidelines issued by the IATF-EID.

Medical, dental, rehabilitation, and optometry clinics; pharmacies and drug stores; veterinary clinics; banks and money transfer services; capital markets, water supply, and sanitation services and facilities; energy and power firms; telecommunications companies; airline and aircraft maintenance can also resume partial operations in ECQ zones and full operations in MECQ GCQ zones.

The IATF-EID also allows partial operations in ECQ areas and full operations in MECQ and GCQ areas

of manufacturing companies; staterun Philippine Postal Corporation and Philippine Statistics Authority; business process outsourcing (BPO) and exportoriented businesses; essential projects; funeral and embalming services; and funeral rites.

Humanitarian assistance personnel; security personnel; printing presses; companies engaged in repair and maintenance of machinery and equipment; and real estate activities limited to leasing can also partially operate in areas under ECQ and fully operate in places under MECQ and GCQ.

For areas under MECQ, the IATF-EID permits the full operations of media establishments; BPO and export-oriented companies; electric commerce firms; other postal and courier services; establishments involved in rental and leasing; recruitment and placement agencies; and those offering housing services.

The new guidelines still allow the full operations of media establishments; BPO and export-oriented firms; electric commerce companies; other postal and courier services; establishments involved in rental and leasing; recruitment and placement agencies; and those offering housing services in GCQ zones.

The IATF-EID also permits the full operations of power, energy, water, and other utilities, agriculture, fishery and forestry industries; food manufacturing and food supply chain businesses; food preparation establishments; and food delivery services in areas where GCQ was enforced.

Health-related establishments; the logistics sector; information technology and telecommunication firms; and media establishments are still authorized to operate at full capacity in GCQ zones.

Mining and other manufacturing and electric commerce companies, as well as other delivery, repair and maintenance, and housing and office services, can also operate “between 50 percent up to full operational capacity” in areas put under GCQ, according to the guidelines.

The IATF-EID also authorizes financial services; legal and accounting, and auditing services; professional, scientific, technical, and other non-leisure services; and other non-leisure wholesale and retail firms to operate at “50 percent work-on-site arrangement, and without prejudice to work-from-home and other alternative work arrangements in GCQ areas.

ECQ in Cebu and Mandaue cities and MECQ in Metro Manila, Laguna, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, and Zambales will lapse on May 31.

The rest of the areas in the country are under GCQ until May 31.

Malacañang earlier said that the nationwide GCQ may likely be imposed in August this year. (PNA) May 23-29, 2020 | 57

Duterte used all special powers to address Covid-19

By Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos

MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte was able to exhaust all the emergency powers granted to him by Congress to allow his administration to stop the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, Malacañang said on Tuesday.

With barely a month before the expiration of Republic Act 11469 or the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, Duterte did his best to respond to the crisis brought about by the Covid-19 outbreak, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a virtual presser aired on state-run PTV-4. “Sa tingin ko po, kahit kailan pa yung date ng expiration ng Bayanihan Act, nagamit naman po ang lahat ng special powers na binigay sa ating Presidente (I think, the President was able to use all his special powers granted to him even before the date of expiration of Bayanihan Act ),” Roque said. President Rodrigo R. Duterte (Presidential photo)

RA 11469, inked on March 24, gives Duterte special powers for a limited time to help his administration combat Covid-19. The law only takes effect for three months, unless extended by Congress. To address the health crisis, Duterte wielded his emergency power to realign the government’s national budget, Roque said. “We have exercised all the powers given to the President. Una po diyan (One of the emergency powers used by Duterte is) the power to realign the budget. Na-realign na po natin iyan (We were able to realign the budget),” he said. Malacañang announced on Saturday that some PHP150 billion from the budget items of the executive branch would be realigned to boost the funding for Covid-19 response. This developed after Duterte earlier directed Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado to look for additional funds that can be used to stop the further transmission of Covid-19. kasama na po ang mga ventilator (When it comes to procurement, we now have the stockpile of PPE and we are able to purchase all the medical equipment we need, including ventilators),” he said. Under RA 11469, Duterte is allowed to provide cash aid worth PHP5,000 to PHP8,000 to 18 million poor families for April and May, realign the national budget to fund Covid-19 response measures, and procure PPE sets and other supplies for front-line health workers. Cagayan de Oro City 2nd District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez on Monday stressed the need to extend until September the granting of emergency powers to Duterte, as provided under RA 11469. Rodriguez said the end of Covid-19 pandemic is “not yet in sight” two months after the effectivity of RA 11469. Rodriguez is expected to file Tuesday a bill extending Duterte’s emergency powers.

Roque said Duterte also used his special power to expedite the procurement of sets of personal protective equipment (PPE) and medical supplies for front-liners battling Covid-19. He added that if Congress fails to pass the bill before Saturday, Duterte will have to ask lawmakers to hold a special session during recess, in case the President wants his special powers extended.

“Pagdating po sa procurement, meron na po tayong kumbaga, stockpile ng PPE at na-order na rin po yung mga ibang kailangan natin

As of Monday, the Philippines has recorded 14,319 confirmed Covid-19 cases, with 873 deaths and 3,323 recoveries. (PNA)

PSHS-Ilocos reserves facility for Covid-19 suspect cases By Ma. Cristina Arayata

MANILA – The Philippine Science High School (PSHS)-Ilocos Region Campus has reserved its housing facility to accommodate suspect cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

In a message to the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Tuesday, PSHS director Lilia Habacon said the facility serves as “plan B” of the local government as to where it could accommodate the suspect cases. such as Magsingal Hospital District, and Gabriela Silang Medical Center,” she added.

“It has been reserved for the municipality of San Ildefonso, Ilocos Sur, in case the quarantine facilities in all their barangays are already crowded. Mayor Christian Purisima requested the use of this facility so they have a place to use especially for returning OFWs (overseas Filipino workers),” she said. Habacon said the Board of Trustees had approved the use of PSHS-Ilocos’ Community Center 2 to accommodate Covid-19 suspect cases last April 15. The housing facility could accommodate 10 patients and four health workers, she said.

Habacon said the local government of San Ildefonso has been using day-care centers as quarantine facilities for returning residents. “Community Center 2 used to be a students’ dorm, but it now serves as a housing facility for teachers,” she added.

“They (local government) bring the PUIs (persons under investigation or probable cases) to nearby hospitals

To date, no suspect case has been brought yet to the PSHS Community Center 2, Habacon said. (PNA)

PH to join Covid-19 vaccine trials by last quarter of 2020

MANILA – Malacañang on Sunday said it expects the Philippines to join clinical trials for a vaccine against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) by the last quarter of 2020.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque made this statement after President Rodrigo Duterte expressed optimism over news that some clinical trials for the development of Covid-19 vaccine are showing early promising results. By Azer Parrocha

“We expect involvement in the vaccine clinical trials by the last quarter of 2020 with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) taking a lead role,” Roque said in a statement. Roque said the DOST has been tasked to provide the country’s collaborating organizations with the Department of Health (DOH), World Health Organization (WHO) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Philippines guidelines on vaccine clinical trials. Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque pic

The DOST will also be in charge of identifying the sites, the local institutions and the Filipino researchers who will be involved in the collaborative trials, he said.

Moreover, the DOST will also be tasked to assist local participating institutions in their proposals and budgets; to obtain Ethics Board approvals and to formalize the agreements, he added.

“The President wants to save the life of each and every Filipino; and thus places great interest to these clinical trials,” Roque said.

Earlier, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) approved the Philippines’ planned participation in the clinical trials for a vaccine against Covid-19 through Resolution No. 39 signed on May 22.

“IATF Resolution No. 39 mentions the approval of the recommendations of the DOST on the participation of the Philippines in the clinical trials for Covid-19 vaccines,” Roque said.

The IATF-EID approved the Philippines’ collaboration with organizations Adimmune Corporation, Academia Sinica, Chinese Academy of Science-Guangzhou Institute of Biomedicine and Health, and Sinopharma-Wuhan Institute of Biological Products and Beijing Institute.

The resolution states that the collaborating organizations will be provided with the WHO’s requirements for Covid-19 vaccine target product profiles; pre-qualification process for WHO approvals; and the FDA’s updated guidelines on clinical trials. FDA is directed to advise on the process to facilitate the issuance of a permit for the conduct of the clinical trial in the Philippines,” the resolution read.

The DOST has been in talks with Chinese and Taiwanese organizations and research groups for possible clinical trials of a Covid-19 vaccine, based on Duterte’s eight weekly report to Congress on his administration’s efforts to arrest the spread of the Covid-19.

Once finished, the clinical trials will also be one of the requirements for the vaccine registration process by the FDA for issuance of the Certificate of Product Registration for market release in the Philippines, according to Resolution 39.

Duterte, in his public address delivered on May 19, sought the immediate purchase of a vaccine for the treatment of Covid-19, once it is available. (PNA)

87% of Pinoys worry about family member catching Covid-19: SWS

By Azer Parrocha

MANILA – At least 87 percent of Filipinos are worried that anyone in their immediate family might catch coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), results of the latest survey released by pollster Social Weather Stations (SWS) on Sunday showed.

The May 4-10 SWS mobile phone survey, which interviewed 4,010 working-age Filipinos nationwide, found that 13 percent are not worried about catching the highly-infectious virus. The survey also found that worry about catching Covid-19 is also higher among Filipinos than among Britons, Australians and Americans, based on similar surveys.

Compared to past SWS surveys, worry about catching Covid-19 is greater than worries about catching Ebola at 82 percent in 2014, swine flu at 82 percent in 2009, bird flu at 83 percent in 2006 and 80 percent in 2004, and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) at 78 percent in 2003.

The worry about catching the virus hardly varies in enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) areas at 88 percent and general community quarantine (GCQ) areas at 86 percent.

It is higher in Metro Manila and Visayas at 93 percent and 91 percent, respectively compared to Mindanao and Balance Luzon at 85 percent and 84 percent, respectively. | May 23-29, 2020 64

Seventy-eight percent of Britons and 75 percent of Australians fear that they may catch the virus, according to the Roy Morgan Research online surveys of March 18-20 and March 28- 29, 2020.

Seventy-nine percent of Americans worry about getting infected by the virus, based on the ABC News/Ipsos Poll May 13-14, 2020 online survey.

As for awareness, nearly all or 94 percent of Filipinos are aware of the Covid-19 symptoms, most mentioned of which are fever at 87 percent and cough at 86 percent.

respondents were colds (50 percent), difficulty breathing (46 percent), throat pain (33 percent), body pain (20 percent), headache (15 percent), diarrhea (11 percent), and constant fatigue (2 percent) while 10 percent mentioned other unspecified symptoms. The awareness of Covid-19 symptoms is high in both ECQ and GCQ areas, at 96 percent and 92 percent, respectively. at 94 percent, and Mindanao at 90 percent. The two other most mentioned symptoms are fever and cough in all areas. Colds is the third most mentioned symptom in Metro Manila (51 percent), the Visayas (59 percent) and Mindanao (54 percent). Difficulty in breathing is the third most mentioned in Balance Luzon (48 percent).

Meanwhile, the awareness of Covid-19 symptoms is highest in Metro Manila at 98 percent, followed by the Visayas at 96 percent, Balance Luzon There are currently 14,035 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the country, 868 deaths and 3,249 recoveries as of Sunday (May 24). (PNA) UNICEF mobilizes $3-M aid to PH Covid-19 response

MANILA – The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Philippines scales up its support to the government through the Department of Health (DOH) in its efforts to address the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

In support of the country’s battle against Covid-19, UNICEF Philippines recently procured supplies which include 72,000 sets of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) for health staff, 450,000 masks (N95 and surgical masks) for health staff, and 500 PPEs for cleaning staff. The PPE kits for health workers include face shields, masks (either surgical or N95), gloves and coverall suits. The cleaning and disinfection kits include soaps, mops, buckets, dippers, alcohol dispensers, cleaning cloths and brushes, as well as bleach, ethyl alcohol and laundry detergent.

UNICEF is also providing 64 multipurpose tents to scale up ward capacities for hospitals in affected regions.

The supplies and protective equipment are complementing UNICEF’s ongoing support and the technical assistance to the Department of Health (DOH) and other partners.

A total USD3 million have been mobilized to date through UNICEF, including donations by the Government of Japan, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), the UN Foundations’ Solidarity Response Fund, and United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

This assistance is crucial for healthcare institutions and community frontliners in conducting contact tracing and in the continuous provision of nonCovid-19 community health services such as the expanded program on immunization.

“Children’s health remains to be a priority of the department during this pandemic. Parents and caregivers are encouraged to have their children vaccinated because vaccines have been proven safe and effective in preventing life-threatening diseases in children,” Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III said.

Parents and caregivers are reminded to follow the vaccination schedule of their children and closely coordinate with their local health office for any adjustments amid the ongoing Covid-19 response.

DOH also enjoins Local Health Offices, Rural Health Units, and Barangay Health Stations to continuously provide

“Aside from immunization, we encourage parents to access other essential child health services. We are also exploring to implement other effective vaccination strategies such as scheduled fixed-post vaccinations (i,e. scheduled vaccination in designated areas such as barangay health stations, gymnasiums, etc.) in adherence to community quarantine protocols and the call for Filipinos to stay at home,” the DOH chief added.

“We are one with the Department of Health, WHO, and other United Nations agencies in the country’s response to Covid-19. We continue employing every effort to contribute to the safety of frontline health workers, while supporting the continuity of essential health services for children across the country,” UNICEF Philippines Representative Oyunsaikhan Dendevnorov said.

UNICEF is complementing DOH’s efforts to train health workers.

Around 3,500 health workers, sanitary engineers and inspectors have been trained in infection prevention and control.

Over 66 million people have been reached with health and hygiene messages on Social Media, Radio and SMS, also translated into Maguindanaon, Maranao, Sama, Tausug and Teduray languages.

With the latest shipment of supplies, UNICEF is also stepping up assistance to the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) as it responds to Covid-19 cases across the region. (PR)

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