May 27-29, 2020 Volume 30 - No. 41 • 2 Sections - 14 Pages
Newsom sets strict rules as California DATELINE USA DFA: No new fatalities churches, places of worship reopen among overseas Filipinos FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA
infected with COVID-19
THE Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday, May 26, announced that there were no new fatalities related to COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, recorded among Filipinos abroad. The death toll remained at 328. “Today, the DFA confirms no new fatalities due to COVID-19 reported by our foreign service posts among Filipinos abroad,” the agency said. However, it reported that 18 additional Filipinos abroad contracted the virus, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases among overseas Filipinos to 2,635. Meanwhile, 16 Filipinos, most of whom are from Asia and the Pacific and Europe, recovered from COVID-19. This raises the total number of recoveries to 905. “Just as significant, the daily rate of confirmed cases decreased with only 18 new confirmed COVID-19 cases while the daily rate of recoveries increased with 16 new
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Beleaguered at home, ABS-CBN soldiers on in North America DALY CITY, California — As they say in the entertainment industry, “The show must go on.” And while for now beleaguered ABS-CBN has been muted by the Duterte administration—President Duterte himself had publicly vowed to “close it down”– the Philippines’ leading media network’s North America arm has continued operating. ABS-CBN’s North America carrier, The Filipino Channel (TFC), operates freely, unhampered by the shutdown of its mother station in the Philippines by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC). The NTC’s cease and desist order on May 5, 2020 applies only to the use of broadcast frequency in the Philippines, ABS-CBN International Managing Director Jun del Rosario, who oversees operations in North and Latin America, explained in an email. “It doesn’t prevent ABS-CBN from continuing to do business as a corporation. We continue to produce shows. Our other businesses such as Star Cinema and Star Music can con-
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Hair salons, barbershops and some in-store shopping also reopen with strict guidelines by KLARIZE
MEDENILLA AJPress
AS the collective anxiety over the inconveniences brought forth from shelter-in-place measures skyrockets across the Golden State, California is now moving forward in reopening churches, temples, mosques
and other places of worship. Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday, May 25 gave churches and other places of worship the green light to resume in-person services, providing strict physical distancing and screening measures to prevent disease transmission.
The decision comes after the governor faced weeks of pressure from more than 1,200 California pastors who threatened to resume services this coming Sunday, May 31 regardless of the state’s rules for reopening.
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LA County opens largest virus testing site at Dodger Stadium by CHRISTINA
M. ORIEL
AJPress
MORE Los Angeles County residents can get checked for the coronavirus as the area’s largest testing site opened on Tuesday, May 26 at Dodger Stadium. Up to 6,000 people are now able to go through the drive-thru process on a daily basis, allowing the county to test more individuals than it has in the past 10 weeks. “That’s three times larger than any testing site that we have. And we’ve designed the site to move as many people as quickly through that site as possible, alleviating long wait times and long lines,” Mayor Eric Garcetti said during a news conference on Tuesday morning ahead of the site’s opening. Around 450,000 people have been tested at drive-thru sites in the city since March, he added. Dodger Stadium is one of 10 testing locations in the city and 36 in the county. In partnership with the county, LA Fire Department, the Dodgers and Community Organized Relief Effort
(CORE), LA is able to continue providing free COVID-19 tests to anyone regardless if they are exhibiting symptoms. It previously became the first major city in the country to offer testing to all its residents. “This builds on our work we’ve been doing [over the] past weeks and months,” Garcetti said. “We want testing to be easy, accessible and free for everybody here in Los Angeles.” Testing is by appointment only on the city’s site, but priority for the same or next day testing is still given to those who have symptoms, such as fever, cough, shortness of breath, chills, muscle pain, headaches, sore throat, or a new loss of sense of smell. Additionally, front line workers are also prioritized. The Dodger Stadium site allows individuals to remain in their cars while large screens provide instructions on how to administer the mouth swab test. Results come back anywhere between three to five days via email or phone. The parking lot at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Tuesday, May 26 was opened up as the largest testing site in the
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county, allowing up to 6,000 individuals to now be tested each day.
AJPress photo by Christina M. Oriel
Lawmaker: New franchise for ABS-CBN instead of renewal
“The 11 bills that were filed, which were on renewal, could be by the motu propio by the comTHE Philippine House of Rep- mittee could now be converted resentatives on Tuesday, May 26, into all a new grant because we began its hearing on the fran- can’t anymore talk about renewal chise renewal of broadcast giant when there’s already an expiration of the franchise,” he said. ABS-CBN. Rodriguez on May 6 filed During the hearing, Cagayan de Oro City 2nd District Rep. Ru- House Bill 6694, which seeks to fus Rodriguez pushed for a new grant ABS-CBN a new franchise. The franchise should be grantEmployees and supporters light candles at the gate of the ABS-CBN compound 25-year franchise instead of a ed in the soonest possible time so in Quezon City last May 5. Philstar.com photo by Miguel de Guzman franchise renewal for ABS-CBN. by RITCHEL
MENDIOLA AJPress
it could “continue to provide uninterrupted and improved delivery of its services to the Filipino people,” the lawmaker argued. Pampanga 2nd District Rep. Mikey Arroyo, however, pointed out that a new franchise might affect the use of ABS-CBN’s broadcast frequencies. “If it’s a renewal, do they still have a right to the frequencies they hold, they used to use?
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PH Airlines raring to restart WHO sounds alarm over ‘slow’ contact tracing efforts in PH flights with new safety rules by MIGUEL
CAMUS Inquirer.net
MANILA – Local airlines battered by the COVID-19 pandemic are raring to take the skies once more. The Air Carriers Association of the Philippines (Acap) said in a statement on Tuesday that member airlines have prepared a host of safety measures as they hope to win back flyers after strict quarantine measures are lifted potentially by the end of this month. Acap is comprised of the country’s major airline groups: Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific
and Air Asia Philippines. Regular flights have been grounded since the middle of March to help stop the spread of COVID-19. “The aviation industry has always been held to a higher standard for safety and risk management versus other forms of mass transportation, and as such, processes and procedures that uphold the welfare and safety of passengers and personnel have been put in place to prevent the risk of infection from viruses and other contaminants,” Roberto “Bobby” Lim, Acap vice chair and executive director, said in
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A REPRESENTATIVE of the World Health Organization warned the national government that its sluggish contact tracing efforts were hampering the country’s progress against COVID-19. Speaking at an online forum hosted by the Philippine College of Physicians, Dr. Socorro Escalante, WHO acting representative, said: “I would say we are slow.” “We need to push harder and we really need to work harder,” she added, urging the government to double down on its efforts with the looming end of modified enhanced community quarantine at the end of May. The WHO representative said that contact tracing should be-
gin once a suspect case visits a hospital instead of upon confirmation of lab results. “By that time, we have already spread the infection to many people and that’s really very, very late,” said Escalante. The Philippine National Police last said it was tasked with heading contact tracing efforts on the LGU level. Healthcare group Coalition for People’s Right to Health earlier told Philstar.com that this “may reflect the lack of manpower by the DOH to conduct contact tracing and quarantine.” “Delay in contact tracing needs to be addressed because other- RAPID TESTING. Employees of Pasay City Hall undergo rapid testing for COVID-19 at the Pasay wise, we are not going to catch up Sports Complex on Monday, May 25. The government continues to ramp up the country’s testing
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capacity as part of efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19.
PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan