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March 23-29, 2020
Zambo on lockdown amid Covid-19 outbreak ‘Beng warns profiteers, hoarders’ M
Mayor Beng Climaco during an inspection at a market in Zamboanga. (Bong Serondo)
AYOR BENG Climaco warned hoarders and profiteers and those taking advantage of the coronavirus crisis in the country, following the outbreak of the deadly disease, or Covid-19, that put Zamboanga City on a total lock-
down. Climaco said the local government and the Department of Trade and Industry will file charges against profiteers and hoarders of disinfectants and other medical and food products. “The local government will sanction all violators. We will not tolerate profiteering and we are warning all those who taking advantage of this crisis – we are going to run after you,” she said. She also urged the
public to report to the City Hall and Department of Trade and Industry any person selling overpriced disinfectants, or other medical products, including face masks. Climaco and members of the Local Price Coordinating Council randomly inspect markets and groceries to ensure that Zamboanga has sufficient supply of basic commodities and prices are stable. Police recently arrest-
ed 4 people for selling overpriced alcohol and hand sanitizers online in Zamboanga. They were accused of profiteering under Republic Act 10623 or Price Act - were apprehended in a sting operation mounted by undercover agents. The Price Act ensures the availability of basic necessities and prime commodities at reasonable prices at all Continue on page 3
Poor will suffer from Southeast Asia’s Covid-19 denial THE GOVERNMENTS of Southeast Asia’s poorest nations are at last waking up and have become very concerned about the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus. Many have been in denial and very slow in their responses. The poor will bear the brunt of this governmental incompetence. Myanmar, Laos and Timor-Leste still have no official cases of the virus, while infections remain low elsewhere in the region. Yet the reason
for these seemingly low rates is simple: the lack of testing kits. This issue is exacerbated by very basic health services, even in urban areas, and a lack of or confused public information about the disease. Many poorer countries including Myanmar have been relying on donations of testing kits from wealthier nations such as Japan, which has been at the forefront of helping Myanmar with its response. Even Indonesia, which has ordered 10,000 testing kits, is chronically
underprepared. Experts fear that Covid-19 is spreading unchecked and under-reported in Southeast Asia’s poorest countries — Bangladesh, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Timor-Leste. The underlying, or real, number of infections was highlighted on March 17 when Cambodia announced its number of infections had doubled overnight to 24. That is in line with the sort of Continue on page 2
A woman wearing a mask amid concerns about the spread of the coronavirus rides a motorcycle in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, on March 11. The impoverished nation has yet to report a single case of Covid-19. (Mladen Antonov - AFP)
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The Zamboanga Post
March 23-29, 2020
China says Japan-developed drug Avigan works against coronavirus AN INFLUENZA medicine developed by a Fujifilm Holdings group company is effective against the new coronavirus, the Chinese government said. Beijing has already begun recommending the drug favipiravir, developed by Fujifilm Toyama Chemical and sold under the brand name Avigan. “It is very safe and clearly effective,” said Zhang Xinmin, director of the science ministry’s China National Center for Biotechnology Development, in a news conference. Fujifilm Toyama developed the drug in 2014. It has been administered to coronavirus patients in Japan since February. Shares in Fujifilm shot up 15.4% in Tokyo in the afternoon session. The trade in the stock was suspended after a glut of buy orders following Beijing’s announcement. Clinical trials were conducted on 200 patients at hospitals in Wuhan and Shenzhen. Results showed that patients who received the drug tested negative in a comparatively short time, while pneumonia symptoms were markedly reduced. Patients taking favipiravir tested negative after a median of four days, compared to 11 days in the control group, according to Zhang. There were no clear side effects, he added. Another clinical trial
in Wuhan revealed that patients treated with favipiravir recovered from fever in 2.5 days on average, versus 4.2 days for other patients. Coughing symptoms also improved within 4.6 days -- about 1.4 days earlier than those who did not take the drug. Only 8.2% of the patients taking favipiravir needed respiratory aids, whereas 17.1% of the patients in the control group were put on devices. The positive reception in China contrasts with reservations over Avigan in Japan, where the drug obtained regulatory approval in 2014 on condition that it would only be used if the government decided to fight new or re-emerging influenza viruses. Studies found that the drug may cause fetal deaths or deformities, and can be transferred in semen. South Korea’s ministry of food and drug safety also decided not to import Avigan after infectious disease experts ruled that there was not enough clinical data to prove the drug’s efficacy, the country’s Yonhap news agency reported this week. Despite Fujifilm’s surging stock price, it is unclear how the company will benefit if Chinese companies begin to mass produce favipiravir. A Fujifilm spokesperson said the company is not involved in the Chinese clinical trials and is cur-
rently evaluating them. Fujifilm signed a patent license agreement concerning Favipiravir with China’s Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical in 2016. But the spokesperson said the agreement was canceled last year, although the two parties are still in a “cooperative relationship.” The Chinese company said it received official approval to produce the drug in February and can ramp up output of a generic version. Fujifilm’s favipiravir patents are valid in Japan, but the substance patent in China expired last year, according to the spokesperson. This clears the way for Zhejiang Hisun to produce the generic version. Fujifilm is providing Avigan to Japanese hospitals for clinical research and is also preparing to conduct its own clinical tests in Japan. Research in Japan began in March, with results not expected for several months. Shares in Nichi-Iko Pharmaceutical were also up about 15% after the University of Tokyo announced that the company’s Nafamostat drug blocks the coronavirus from entering human cells, effectively inhibiting infections. (Shin Watanabe, Michelle Chan, and Wataru Suzuki, Nikkei staff writers. Additional reporting by Jada Nagumo.)
Poor will suffer from Southeast Asia’s Covid-19 denial - UCAN Continued from page 1 rises that have been seen in other countries where testing has been more widespread. Until recently, Hun Sen, Cambodia’s dictator prime minister, had said that the country’s warmer weather would protect people from the virus. Yet there is no certainty about the nature of this pathogen and its relationship with external heat and humidity, traditionally factors in slowing seasonal influenza pathogens. Again, Hun Sen’s weeks of inaction have left his citizens at greater risk. The lack of testing kits is a genuine concern. The best medical advice is that the more that people showing symptoms can be tested, then authorities can start tracing who these people have been in contact with. They can then isolate as many people as possible from a disease that has an infection rate of between 4.5 and six people per patient, according to scientific research. Myanmar is a good
example of a government hardly known for its competence belatedly moving into gear. In recent days it has introduced a raft of measures included blocking travel to the country from countries where infections are high: China, South Korea, Iran, Italy, France and Spain. More countries are sure to join the list. Myanmar has also belatedly cancelled its annual Thingyan water festival, part of the nation’s week-long New Year celebrations. Similar festivals are also held in neighboring Buddhist countries Thailand, Cambodia and Laos. Those not yet cancelled are expected to be soon, but such action should have been taken before now. Governments in Southeast Asia have often bungled their responses to the coronavirus. The best example was Singapore closing its borders on March 15, largely in response to wealthy Indonesians fleeing their country and checking straight into
Singaporean hospitals, effectively bringing the disease to the city-state. Such incompetence will hit the poor harder than the wealthy elites who can afford health care and to be isolated, not relying on daily street contact for their living. Advice from health agencies that people should stay at home if they are feeling unwell, or begin to stockpile food in response to the coronavirus outbreak, is surely well intentioned, but it fails to take into account the most vulnerable members of society. “Guidance to date is of limited use to people without adequate safety nets. Workers in the informal economy may not have the luxury of staying at home without paid sick leave,” said Vidya Diwakar, senior research officer at ODI, an independent think tank focused on poverty. People living in or near poverty often lack disposable cash and cannot easily stockpile food. Hunger,
malnutrition, pneumonia and other forms of health-related shocks and stresses compound vulnerability to the virus and
contribute to a vicious cycle of disease, destitution and death. Poverty can fuel contagion, but contagion can also create or
deepen impoverishment, he added. This crisis has a long way to run. (Michael Sainsbury – UCAN)
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The Zamboanga Post
March 23-29, 2020
Zambo on lockdown amid Covid-19 outbreak ‘Beng warns profiteers, hoarders’
Continued from page 1 times without denying legitimate business a fair return on investment, as well as the policy to provide effective and sufficient protection to consumers against hoarding, profiteering and cartels with respect to the supply, distribution, marketing
and pricing of said goods, especially during periods of calamity, emergency, widespread illegal price manipulation and other similar situations. Online sellers here priced their 250ml bottle alcohol from P100 to P200 after stocks ran out in supermarkets and gro-
ceries due to panic buying by residents. At KCC Mall de Zamboanga, customer can only purchase one bottle of 250ml of alcohol after it imposed a limit on the sale of disinfectants to be able to accommodate more people. “We urge the public to remain vigilant and report
any seller of overpriced medical supplies such as alcohol, face masks, among others. We, along
with other line government agencies and the local government, are doing our best to keep the prices
within the suggested retail prices,” the Trade department said. (Zamboanga Post)
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Mayor Beng Climaco and members of the Local Price Coordinating Council inspect markets and groceries to ensure that Zamboanga has sufficient supply of basic commodities and prices are stable. (Bong Serondo)
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The Zamboanga Post
March 23-29, 2020
Zamboanga Pictures in the News (Photos by Bong Serondo, Gianna Andrion, Christian Olasiman, Sai Cortez, and Raymond Delator)
Members of the Task Force Covid-19 during one of its meetings in Zamboanga City.
City Hall clients and employees undergo thermal check and sanitation as they enter the premises as part of the strengthened preventive measures amidt the global threat on coronavirus infection.
The City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office conducts disinfection in different local government offices at City Hall as part of its continued efforts versus Covid-19.
Social distancing now being observed in public utility vehicles in Zamboanga.
Personnel from the The Department of Trade and Industry and the local government of Zamboanga meet with wholesalers, retailers, and mall owners to discuss matters affecting local trade and commerce in the city due to the Covid-19 scare.
Combined personnel from Joint Task Force Zamboanga and Zamboanga City Police Office together with the Marines enforce the suspension order of all incoming trips at the border in Zamboanga Sibugay province.
Mayor Beng Climaco presides over a meeting with security sector to discuss the guidelines for the enhanced community quarantine to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in Zamboanga. Attending the meeting are Zamboanga police chief Colonel Thomas Joseph Martir, Joint Task Force Zamboanga Commander Colonel John Divinagracia, City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council Officer Elmeir Apolinario and City Administrator Apple Go, among others.
March 23-29, 2020
The Zamboanga Post
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The Zamboanga Post
March 23-29, 2020
Across : 1. Scent 6. Little bit 9. Asphalt 12. Arctic 13. Compass pt. 14. Brewery product 15. Peppy 17. Drink daintily 18. Expected 19. Castle trench 21. Host Conan ___ 24. Stick fast 27. Formerly called 28. Pittsburgh player 29. Additional 31. Dessert choice 32. Cruel 33. Assumed names 35. Chem., e.g. 36. Diminish 37. Morally pure 40. Adolescent 41. Have breakfast 42. ___ loss for words (2 wds.) 44. Orbiting object 49. Mr. Franklin 50. Medical group (abbr.) 51. Old Roman language 52. Jaguar, e.g. 53. Rainy 54. Road bends Down : 1. Gorilla, e.g. 2. ___ Howard of “Happy Days” 3. Bullfight cry 4. ___ Gras (Shrove Tuesday) 5. Dispute 6. Explosive (abbr.) 7. Enliven 8. Decipher 9. Lacking flavor 10. Famed boxer 11. Dem.’s foe 16. Poet’s “still” 20. Attention-getting sound 21. Shaquille ___ 22. Southern beauty 23. Water ___ (like some watches)
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The Zamboanga Post
March 23-29, 2020
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Ang tawag sa kondisyon na ito ay presbyopia. Ito’y dulot ng pag-edad at pagtigas ng lente ng ating mata. Ang lente ang taga-focus sa mga malalapit na bagay. Ang solusyon nito ay ang pagsuot ng salamin o reading glasses. Magpagawa ng salamin. Ano ang gagawin ko kapag napuwing ako? Kapag may bagay na nakapasok sa ating mata, kusa itong magluluha para matanggal ang puwing sa mata. May sariling mekanismo ang mata para mailabas ang puwing.
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The Zamboanga Post
March 23-29, 2020
March 23-29, 2020
The Zamboanga Post
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Founded July 2019
ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT, PLEASE CALL (062) 9555360 or (0995) 5202358
Zamboanga releases guidelines on enhanced community quarantine
T
HE LOCAL government has released guidelines on the enhanced community quarantine as a preventive measure to ensure Zamboanga remains free from the coronavirus disease that has infected dozens of people in the country. Mayor Beng Climaco, households; movement to stay home and quaranwho heads the Task Force shall be limited to access- tine. Vulnerable commuCovid-19, released the ing basic necessities; and nities like our elderly, peofollowing guidelines. there will be heightened ple with low immunity and “Establishments pro- presence of uniform per- disabilities can’t fight the viding basic necessities sonnel to enforce quar- virus as well as you do. So will remain open and such antine procedures. For do the right thing. Stay at activities related to food this purpose, only 2 per- home. Be a hero,” she said. and medicine produc- sons per household will As of March 17, Zamtion, i.e., public markets, be allowed to leave their boanga has 353 persons supermarkets, groceries, homes. Barangay officials under monitoring (PUMs) convenience stores, bak- shall be directed to mon- and 12 persons under ineries, hospitals, medical itor compliance with this vestigation (PUIs). clinics, pharmacies and policy.” A PUI is a person that drug stores, food prepaBut Climaco said fu- shows symptoms of cough, ration and delivery ser- neral services shall be colds and fever with a travvices, water -refilling made available. “Imme- el or contact history to stations, manufacturing diate burial is advised. countries or person that and processing plants of The movement of cargoes is affected with CoviD 19, basic food products and within and into Zambo- and being admitted in the medicines, agricultural anga City shall be un- hospital for observation. and fishery products and hampered; A city – wide On other hand, a PUM ancillary inputs, banks, curfew shall be imposed is a person with travel money transfer services, from 9 o’clock in the eve- and contact history to power, energy, fuel, water ning until 5 o’clock in the countries or person that and telecommunications morning. Land, air and is affected with CoviD supplies and facilities sea travel of uniformed 19 but not displayed any shall be open.” personnel, government symptoms and is ad“Classes and school officers and members of vised to undergo a 14-day activities in all levels will the Task Force Covid-19 self-quarantine at home to remain suspended. Mass for official business, espe- be monitored by barangay gatherings shall be pro- cially those transporting health workers. hibited. Religious gather- medical supplies, labora“Your local officials in ings shall be suspended. A tory specimens related to coordination with other work from home arrange- the Covid-19, and other government agencies, the ment shall be imple- humanitarian assistance, health and security secmented except the PNP, shall be allowed. Valid IDs tor are doing all efforts to AFP, health and emer- will be presented at check- manage the risks in the gency frontline services, points.” City of Zamboanga. We border control, financial She also urged resi- urge utmost cooperation institutions, power/wa- dents to stay at home. “You from everyone in all the ter/telecom utilities and may not feel sick or have protocols and guidelines other critical services. A the Covid-19 symptoms, we are enforcing in the strict home quarantine but you may spread the vi- City,” Climaco said. (Zamshall be observed in all rus to others when you fail boanga Post)
A woman wears a mask in Zamboanga City which is now under community quarantine. (Zamboanga Post)
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March 23-29, 2020