Expert warns against complacency as gov't prepares for 'new normal'

MANILA -- A health expert on Wednesday urged the public to remain vigilant against the spread of COVID-19 infections as the government is now preparing for the “new normal.”

Dr. Lulu Bravo, director of Philippine Foundation for Vaccination, said the public should follow the health protocols imposed by the government as these came from the recommendations of the health experts backed with scientific data.

Bravo said the public should always wear face masks and maintain physical distance despite the decrease of COVID-19 infections in the country.

“So pagsinabi nila na ganito ang naging consensus o naging official ay dapat po nating sundin. At kung sakali man po, yung new normal na sinasabi, hindi pa tayo dapat maging kampante, yan ang sinasabi ng ating eksperto. Hindi pwedeng magtanggal na ng mask at ipagwalang bahala ang ating distansya,” she said.

“Kasi talaga pong mag-hintay pa tayo, pero malapit na po, deep in my heart it is coming. But please huwag masyadong mabilis dahil dahan-dahan pong nangyayari ang new normal na ‘yan sa ngayon,” she added.

Bravo also encouraged the public to get inoculated against COVID-19, saying that vaccines will help the country recover from the pandemic.

“There are vaccines, napakaraming vaccines that are under development that are safe and effective. Vaccines are safe and are shown to be effective, ‘yan po ang sandata natin upang mas mabilis mawala ang pandemya,” she said.

Earlier, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said Alert Level 1 would be the country's "new normal." It is declared when case transmission is low and decreasing, and total bed utilization and intensive care unit utilization rates are likewise low. Vergeire said under the new normal, restrictions will be very specific or will only be implemented in areas with high risk of infection, while the capacity limit in establishments, whether indoor or outdoor, and in transportation will be removed.

The Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday logged the lowest daily COVID-19 tally this year with 2,010 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the nationwide cases to 3,641,940. (MNS) Gov’t amping up pediatric COVID-19 vax for students’ return to schools by August — Vergeire

The Department of Health (DOH) said Thursday the government is amping up the pediatric COVID-19 vaccination so the students can safely return to school by August 2022 amid the pandemic.

“We are really trying to vaccinate our children so that they will be safe also when they go to school. I think by August for this next school year, the plan would be that schools will really open,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said.

“We’ve started already with the pilot implementation for this face-toface classes and the whole objective would be that eventually, by this next school year, everything will be starting,” she added.

The pilot testing of face-to-face classes started on November 15, 2021 in several areas in the country, in which 100 public schools— subject to strict health protocols— have participated in.

Meanwhile, several private

Program.

SAN DIEGO, CA -- Affirmed

Housing, a leading provider of affordable housing throughout California, in collaboration with the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS), announced the groundbreaking of ShoreLINE, a new, 100% affordable, transitoriented development located at the Grantville Trolley Station on Alvarado Canyon Road.

“ShoreLINE is a great example of MTS taking a leadership role to address the region’s housing shortage, build sustainable, affordable communities, and increase transit ridership,” said Nathan Fletcher, MTS Board Chair, and Chair, San Diego County Board of Supervisors. “We appreciate the partnership with Affirmed Housing and look forward to seeing families thriving in this community for years to come.”

“This kind of transit-oriented affordable housing is exactly what we need more of here in San Diego,” said San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria.

“More housing options near transit are a win for our city, our community and our environment. When people live near convenient and reliable travel options like transit, there is less overall travel by car in the city, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions and enhances quality of life for all of us.”

The new, five-story ShoreLINE building features 124 studio, one, two- and three-bedroom units reserved for households earning 30 – 60% of the area median income

(AMI). Residential units and laundry facilities are located on every level, and the ground floor includes parking, bike storage, office space for property management, and community room with gathering space, a computer lab and a kitchen. Residents also have access to an expansive 5,800-squarefoot courtyard, outdoor gardens and gathering spaces with builtin seating, an enclosed tot lot play area and a barbecue station. Access to the building will be monitored 24/7 and restricted to residents only. Designed to encourage pedestrian and bike activity, the new development features a lush, 26-foot-wide paseo that leads to the main entrance and several paths through and around the building connect to the trolley/bus station.

ShoreLINE is part of a larger effort MTS is advancing to redevelop its top-tier park and ride locations into transit-oriented developments. Other top-tier properties MTS is in the process of redeveloping or actively looking to redevelop include: Palm Avenue Trolley Station – 390 units Rancho BernardoTransit Center – 100 estimated units 12th & Imperial Transit Center – 500 estimated units

El Cajon Transit Center – 400 estimated units E Street Transit Center –170-390 estimated units Beyer Boulevard Transit Center – 100 estimated units

A full inventory of properties can be accessed on the MTS Real Estate webpage here.

“ShoreLINE is a shared vision to bring forward-looking solutions that address urgent, urban livability challenges and deliver long term, positive impacts,” said Jimmy Silverwood, executive vice president for Affirmed Housing. “Ensuring housing security is good, but it’s not enough – providing a little extra support and a welcoming environment where people are proud to live is significant for boosting the overall health and wellness of the entire community. We’re grateful to work with our partners who embrace these methods that benefit us all.”

Affirmed Housing leveraged various types of funding and credit sources for ShoreLINE’s development, including transitoriented development funds from the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD); project-based

SAN DIEGO, CA -- On Sat., Feb. 26, 2022 at 2:00 to 3:30 pm, the SAMAHAN Filipino American Arts and Education Center will hold a free workshop on Maguindanao dances and kulintang (gong) music at the Valencia Park Malcom X Library at 5148 Market St., San Diego Ca 92114. The workshop is the final free interactive worship of the series sponsored in part by the Lving Cultures Program of the Alliance for California Arts Council. For more information, email SamahanPhilDance @ gmail.com or call (619)4706024. Please register at https:// freemaguindanaoworkshop. evenbrite.com.

The series of workshops on Maguindanao culture educates participants about the indigeneous dances and music of the Maguindanao, the largest Muslim society in Mindanao Island in the Philippines. The upcoming workshop on February 26th features the Cagayan warrior dance and the demystifying of the Singkil. Since May 2021, SAMAHAN artists, namely Dr. Bernard Ellorin, Kim Kalanduyan, Michelle CamayaJulian, and Nico del Mundo, have taught the workshop series covering a repertoire of indigenous cultural music and dance of the Maguindanao people. SAMAHAN is profoundly indebted to the Salamindanao dance company master artists Faisal Monal and Sata Abdullah, and the Kalanduyan family of musicians from Datu Piang, Cotabato, who were our resource persons and informants during our field study in 2019. Funding for our research was through grant from The San Diego Foundation – Dr. Lolita Diñoso Carter Endowment and from the Alliance of California Traditional Arts (ACTA) Apprenticeship

SAMAHAN’s cultural workshops aim to educate the community about the indigenous culture of the Muslim societies in Mindanao Island, Philippines. Historically, dances and music from this region have been incorrectly labeled and inappropriately presented. Many diasporic Philippine dance companies have presented Maguindanao culture under a highly problematic repertoire known as the “Muslim Suite.” This has brought forth orientalist interpretations of cultural dances choreographed to a cacophony of banging gong and drum patterns.

Recognizing the importance of educating students and the community at-large, SAMAHAN’s company performers

I get asked a lot how I fit everything into my day. Truth is, sometimes I don’t. I do try though. I’m avid multi-tasker. I figure: There’s a lot I want to do, and successfully trying to do it all doesn’t come without some solid planning and special effort.

Is it worth it? Yes, absolutely. Personally, I thrive in a busy, fast-paced environment.

I’m project-oriented and, admittedly, an overachiever by nature. Whatever I do, I do BIG. If I’m not careful and strategic, though, the world can start to spin too fast, and there’s nothing worse than feeling like a mess who’s behind or overwhelmed.

As such, I try to keep certain habits to ensure that I’m prepared to face the world even when my schedule starts to max out. For the next few weeks, I’ll share with you how I max out without stressing out.

This week, I’m sharing a few ways I stay organized while always being on the run.

I set a place for everything and try to keep everything in its place.

This goes for the way I organize my makeup and toiletries, my work desk, my purse, my email inbox, etc. Because I’m almost always in a hurry, I don’t like wasting time looking for things or having to replace things that aren’t in good shape due to mishandling or poor storage.brings so much

Busy Schedule? Max Out, Don’t Stress Out

peace of mind when I know exactly where an item “lives.” Once I find the best home for an item, it almost feels disrespectful to things (and my effort to organize them) to leave them strewn about.

For example, in my bathroom, I display/ store items based on the order of my daily regimen. It keeps me from missing any steps, makes me faster, and leaves me feeling prepared to face (or unwind from) the day.

It’s the same in my workspace. Taking the time to match the storage of items to my daily actions was life changing. I’m quite proud of my work desk drawers now, but there was a time that I used to allow myself a “miscellaneous [read: dump] drawer.” I don’t do that anymore. It didn’t serve me or my productivity level well. It was just an excuse and, quite frankly, wasted space.

I tend to change my purse often throughout the week (gotta match the shoes, right?), so I’ve become quite methodical about how I store items that are constantly being transferred. Anything cell phone related, for example, is always in one pouch. Makeup items are kept in another. I also try to implement the same pocket system from purse to purse. Certain items will always live in the large inside pocket of my purse, then other items are commonly grouped together in other available pockets (e.g., mints + hand cream, pens + business cards, bobbi pins + safety pins). When a purse doesn’t have enough pockets, I put small pouches to good use. *Pro tip: Small pouches are also great for grouping/packing/protecting items when traveling. No small pouches? Try Ziploc bags!

Email…Oh.my.email…I often think about (and miss) our world before email. I try to keep my email in check with a few organizing habits. For starters, I have more than one email address. This helps with the compartmentalizing of the different layers of my life. My work email is separate from my social email, which is different from my shopping email that isn’t the same as my family & friends email, etc. This makes the process of checking my email less of a dreaded but must-do task.

Especially for my work email, I have a ton of folders. As soon as I’m able, I move messages from my inbox to the appropriate folder. This helps keep me from missing messages, helps me prioritize and makes it easy to pull up files and messages later. I find the more specific the folder and subfolder titles, the better.

Coming up next week…Hamper | Pamper Days – How to catch up on self-care while catching up on chores.

Exclusively here in The Filipino Press--Follow Francine Maigue’s adventures as she represents our region with grace and honor as one of the "100 Most Influential Filipinas in the World" and the "Global Face of Pinay Power," as named by the Filipina Women's Network. Francine is the FilipinoAmerican History Achievement Award Winner in Humanitarianism, Arts, and Community Service and an Outstanding Filipino American Young Leaders Awardee as selected by His Excellency Ambassador Cuisia and the Philippine Consuls.

COMMUNITY PRAYERS 4 FRANCINE'S HEALING & RECOVERY

The Maigue and Bendorf Families during one of their happier moments. We are requesting for Community Prayers for our very own Francine (9th, l-r), who is still in ICU because of her lung cancer. Francine has openly documented her health challenge/ journey in this column and we appeal to our readers to show your love and give much needed prayers. Dedicated and loving of her family, friends and community, we are re-printing one of her articles which was earlier published, yet remains relevant.

Originally from Cavite City, Philippines and raised in Chula Vista, Francine Maigue received her master’s degree from Harvard University and bachelor’s degree from UCLA. Francine is the District Director for California State Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez. She is the Immediate Past President of the Filipino-American Chamber of Commerce of San Diego County, Board Member for the Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center Foundation and Los Chabacanos of Cavite City, and is a former Miss Philippines of San Diego. Got an organization, business, or event Francine should know about?

Email: thepamperedpinay@yahoo.com.