link Calabarzon destinations

Travel Tourism corridor eyed to link Calabarzon destinations

A camping destination in Tanay, Rizal (Contributed photo)

MANILA – A tourism initiative called the Green Corridor will soon link several destinations in Region-4A (Calabarzon) under the new normal, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said Wednesday.

In a press conference from Rizal province, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said the department fully supports the initiative and vowed to extend support through online marketing campaigns as well as providing capacity-building training for tourism stakeholders.

Starting with Rizal, Romulo-Puyat said the Green Corridor Initiative could interlink several towns in the safety of a travel bubble. "Rizal is blessed to have many open air, nature, culture-based tourism products and it has been proven that as long as open air and protocols are in place, we can restart tourism," she told reporters.

Romulo-Puyat said destinations in Rizal correspond with the travel preferences of tourists amid the pandemic, which include places that are near the metro and with more open spaces.

“Through the Green Corridor Initiative, the City of Antipolo and the Municipalities of Angono, Taytay, and Cainta are interlinked in the safety of a travel bubble, furthering the DOT’s commitment to promote the province as a fun, sustainable and safe destination,” she said.

At the same time, she said the DOT will strictly monitor the compliance of all accredited tourism establishments with the Department of Health public health standards as well as the DOT health and safety guidelines.

“With several ongoing initiatives to spur tourism, we have to ensure that there are adequate accredited establishments to serve and accommodate visitors," she said.

As of Feb. 28, there are about 95 accredited accommodation establishments in Region-4A, nine of which are from Rizal.

Tourism infrastructure projects have also been in the pipeline to provide better access roads to sites such as the Bunsuran Falls and Mystical Cave, both in Antipolo. (PNA)

It was, however, unclear whether he was serious when he made the remarks.

Go, who joined the event, was seen shaking his head in disapproval.

Duterte’s latest statement came despite Go’s insistence that he is not gunning for the presidency in 2022.

It also came amid calls for Go and Duterte to run for president and vice president, respectively.

Earlier Thursday, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque recalled Duterte’s previous statement that the Chief Executive has no plan to become the country’s next vice president next year.

Sal Panelo as ‘good senator someday’

Meanwhile, Duterte also hinted at the possibility that his top lawyer, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel, might seek a seat at the Senate in the 2022 national and local elections.

This was after Duterte alluded that Panelo could be a “good senator” in the future.

He also praised Panelo’s credentials, noting that the Palace official’s former clients include celebrities.

“Sal Panelo is the lawyer. Ito ‘yung abugado ng mga artista. Totoo, ‘yung mga iskandalo, nag-aaway. Kaniya iyang lahat. High profile itong si Sal (He is the lawyer of the stars. That’s true, he defended those involved in scandals. That’s him. Sal is high-profile). And maybe, he would make a good senator someday,” Duterte said.

Apart from Panelo, the President also lauded some of his Cabinet officials, including Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade and Public Works Secretary Mark Villar.

A February 4 article published by the local news site firm Politiko said Duterte named nine of his Cabinet secretaries as the administration’s potential senatorial bets next year.

Duterte, Politiko reported, named Roque, Panelo, Tugade, Villar, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, and vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. as his senatorial candidates. (MNS)

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Health Science Clinical Professor Dr. Dali Fan, who serves as a volunteer vaccinator at California Northstate University in Elk Grove, California. He noted that the J&J vaccine is a single dose regimen that is much easier to store.

“So with three players coming to the battlefield, the tide has turned in our favor. We can greatly elevate the speed at which the American population gets vaccinated.”

California vaccination sites already have the capacity to inoculate more people on a daily basis, said Fan. “So with the addition of the third vaccine we're confident that we can get all Americans and all Californians vaccinated by the end of the summer.”

Simply administering the shot is a cakewalk, said the physician. The challenges lie in registration, recruiting sufficient vaccinators, finding people to vaccinate if a person does not show up for an appointment — so as not to waste a dose — and monitoring a vaccinated person for 15 minutes after they have received the shot.

Speaking to Ethnic Media Services late evening March 4, after administering more than two dozen doses at the CNU clinic, Fan joked: “It is always the rule that, when you're in a rush, it’s the last patient that creates trouble. It's never the first patient.”

The CNU clinic has placed a priority on vaccinating educators who will return to schools later this month, under Governor Gavin Newsom’s plan for re-opening schools, announced March 1.

All three vaccines currently available — the Johnson and Johnson, the Pfizer, and the Moderna — are equally efficacious, said Fan, addressing the rumors that the J&J vaccine was less effective at preventing a COVID illness. “You shouldn’t worry about which vaccine you’re getting: just get vaccinated,” he said.

The single shot regimen might prove to be more effective, he said, as people often do not return for their second doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine.

Moreover, the J&J vaccine can be stored in a refrigerator, overcoming the challenges of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which must be stored at minus 80 degrees Celsius and minus 20 degrees Celsius, respectively. The lag time to see full efficacy is shorter with a single dose regimen: 14 days with the J&J vaccine, versus 42 to 49 days with the two-dose Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, explained Fan.

During that lag time, people can still transmit the virus to a non-vaccinated person, said Fan, advising, like other experts, that vaccinated people should still continue to wear masks. “Even when you are fully vaccinated, the chance of you getting the disease is five percent to 15 percent,” he said.

Data has not yet been released as to how long the vaccines will last. Fan said that information was not yet available.

“We know that it is safe to say that the immunization should last for more than six months and after that you may need supplemental injection next year.”

“Hopefully if there are enough people getting vaccinated, the virus the pandemic will die down and die off entirely.”

Johnson and Johnson is currently studying for a second shot and Moderna and Pfizer are studying for a third shot which would be engineered towards the new, more contagious and more virulent mutant variants, including the Brazilian variant, the U.K. variant, the South African variant, and a variant that has sprung up in the Bakersfield region of California.

ASIAN AmerICAN... frOm PAge 2 PINAY... frOm PAge 1

“People have had acid thrown at them; faces have been slashed,” she stated emotionally.

Other speakers at the press conference were: Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón; Robin S. Toma, Executive Director of the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations, and Assistant Director of the Los Angeles County department of Workforce Development, Aging and Community Services; Manjusha Kulkarni, Executive Director, Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council, and representative of StopAAPIHate; and Fredrick Sykes, former Sheriff’s deputy, Mayor and City Councilmember of West Covina and currently a commissioner of the LACCHR.

Gonzalez is an exemplary member of the Filipino American community. Among the distinction that she has recently earned were: 2017 One Hundred Outstanding Filipino Americans in USA; 2018 Ambassador for Philippine Children's Charities; 2019 Executive Officer of the Philippine Senate President Vicente Sotto III.

The newly appointed board member said she believes that students must receive quality education; must be given opportunities to shine and become the best they can be.

Gonzalez said she is an advocate for reshaping school priorities to keep the schools at pace with ongoing societal changes.

Gonzalez is an active member of the St. Lorenzo Ruiz Parish where she sings with its choir and serves as member of the Hospitality/Welcoming Committee.

The Filipina American shared the local limelight with Donna Freedman who was also appointed to the Board of Education for Trustee Area 5.

Rowland Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Julie Mitchell officially presented the Oath of Office to Gonzales and Freedman on Monday (March 1, 2021).

Gonzales and Freedman Both will serve as provisional board members through December 2022.

For her part, Freedman said: “I am so thrilled and very excited to be back as a RUSD Board Member and I want to say thank you to our community, CSEA and ARE for their support. I’m ready for the challenges, hard work and difficult decisions to be made.”

Freedman and Gonzalez will take on their new roles as Board Members at the March 11 Board of Education meeting --- where the entire Board will restructure and assume new board member positions.

For inquiries, community members are encouraged to visit rowlandschools. org or call the Superintendent’s Office at (626) 854-8304.

The Rowland Unified School District has garnered numerous state and national awards and is proud of its 19 schools that serve the communities of Rowland Heights, Walnut, La Puente, City of Industry, and West Covina.

More than 5,000 adults (18+) are also served by the Rowland Adult and Community Education School.

For more information about Rowland Unified, the community can call (626) 965-2541 or download the free Rowland USD Mobile App, follow Rowland schools on Twitter @RowlandSchools #WeAreRUSD, Facebook.com/RowlandUSD Twitter, or visit www.RowlandSchools.org.

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'Telemedicine here to stay' a year after COVID-19 prompts PH lockdown

MANILA (Mabuhay) — After a few taps and calls on her smartphone, recovering tuberculosis patient Rie Domingo had prescribed medicine for her sore throat without her venturing outside.

A year after President Rodrigo Duterte restricted travel in and out of Metro Manila due to COVID-19, telemedicine has provided patients the means to consult their doctors at the comfort of their homes.

“Telemedicine is here to stay. There are many secure online platforms for this purpose that doctors can use. Because consultations are online, patients from far-flung regions in the country can see their doctor of choice in another locality,” Dr. Winlove Mojica said.

Medifi, a telehealth platform with over 3,000 doctors, has served nearly 37,000 patients since March last year with an average of 80100 consultations per day, said its CEO Jay Fajardo.

“Aside from helping to relieve pressure on the overburdened healthcare system, telehealth provided a safe way for patients to consult with their doctors while avoiding unnecessary exposure,” he said.

“According to our network of doctors, they intend to keep a significant part of their online consulting practice, even after the threats of the pandemic have subsided and quarantine rules have relaxed.”

The most common concerns addressed by Medifi are in the fields of dermatology, obstetrics and gynecology, psychiatry, and pediatrics, according to Fajardo.

Mojica, a dermatologist, said telemedicine has been a “blessing” to his practice.

“I'm very lucky that the field of Dermatology is a visual field. Even before the pandemic we have been practicing telemedicine to help physicians in rural communities in diagnosing skin conditions. Most of the time I just need to look at photos to arrive at a correct diagnosis,” he said.

Online patient consultations however has its downsides, Mojica added.

“I can only see a limited number of patients in a day. Online consultations can be tiring too in a different way. When internet connection is faulty, consultations seem to last forever," he said. "There are also patients who bombard you with questions even after official clinic hours. For patients with more complicated conditions, I have to refer them to other doctors who hold physical clinics. I could not admit patients at the hospital as I used to.”

Telemedicine does not replace in-person consultation but “complements it,” said Fajardo.

“There are many cases when teleconsulting is useful for post-treatment follow-up...It is also quite effective providing a level of triage, particularly when studies show that 70 percent of physical clinical visits are avoidable,” he said.

“It is very convenient both for doctors and patients. In-person consultations though can never be replaced and can be offered for those needing standard physical examination, Mojica said. (MNS)

FDA team fl ying to Russia to review Sputnik V vaccine application

MANILA (Mabuhay) — FDA Director General Eric Domingo on Thursday said a team of inspectors will fly to the Gamaleya Research Institute manufacturing plant because the company has not yet submitted a Certificate of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) two months since it applied for the Emergency Use Authorization. Instead of submitting the requirement, the Russian vaccine manufacturer invited the FDA to personally inspect their factory. Domingo said the local representative of Gamaleya will pay the application fee for the GMP inspection, saying this is part of the usual standard operating procedures. “Ang ine-explain kasi nila is that every country na nag-license sa kanila, kapag pumupunta doon iniisinspect sila, binibigyan sila ng EUA pero hindi sila inissuehan ng certificate of GMP,” Domingo said in a text message. Domingo said the FDA aims to release the result of Gamaleya’s EUA application before the end of the month. He said the team they are sending to Russia are trained, adding they are tasked to give their feedback if something needs to be fixed or explain what measures need to be done so their findings

FDA DIRECTOR GENERAL ERIC DOMINGO can be addressed. Gamaleya submitted its EUA application in January, the third vaccine man-

Public becoming ‘lax’ in complying with health protocol vs COVID-19, says DILG exec

MANILA (Mabuhay) — More Filipinos have become “lax” in following minimum health standards to fight COVID-19, an official from the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said Wednesday, blaming it as the reason behind the spike in newly-reported cases.

The country has been logging more than 2,400 fresh cases since March 5, data showed, with the health department reporting over 3,000 new infections at its peak for 4 straight days until March 8.

DILG Undersecretary Epimaco Densing III, who was infected with the coronavirus last year, blamed this development to Filipinos who violate health protocols, and batted for a stricter observance of such measures.

But the official, facing the House Committee on Transportation, did not reveal any new rules for stemming the virus’ spread.

“The reason why there’s an upsurge in identified local government units (LGU) is because people have started to become lax in the practice of minimum health standards. I saw in Pasay, BGC (Bonifacio Global City), people are talking, laughing without face masks and face shields, and you see saliva coming out of their mouths,” Densing told lawmakers.

“This is really an issue that we are addressing right now, for people to practice minimum health standards when they go out of their homes,” he added.

Nueva Ecija 2nd District Rep. Micaela Violago asked the official whether the DILG would consider implementing new health standards considering the uptick in new COVID-19 infections.

“Kasi ngayon, nag-surge na naman ng dami ng pasyente ng COVID. Na-consider ba sa plano ito? Kasi ngayon, sigurado marami na namang probinsya na magsasara ulit kasi sa pagdami [ng kaso]” said Violago.

Densing said the DILG already issued a memorandum directing LGUs to pass ordinances penalizing residents who violate minimum health protocols.

“We’ve already issued a memo reiterating our previous memorandum in July of 2020… It can be in the form of imprisonment, fines or penalties, or maybe community work. And this was mentioned by our health officials during our consultation with the mayors of the National Capital Region, that regardless of the variant, if people are practicing minimum health standards, there is 95 percent less chance or risk of transmission,” he said.

In a public briefing on Monday, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire reiterated that the spike in new cases cannot be attributed solely to the local presence of COVID-19 variants, saying that the public’s non-compliance with health protocols remained as its “underlying cause.”

“As long as our public would not be able to comply with the minimum health protocols that are there, the interventions, and then, andiyan na talaga ‘yung posibilidad na dadami nang darami ang kaso. And ngayon dumating yung variants, it has aggravated yung increase sa cases,” said Vergeire.

A Jan. 26-Feb. 1, 2021 survey by the OCTA Research, an independent group of researchers providing updates on the COVID-19 outbreak in the country, showed that a majority or over 90 percent of Filipinos complied with wearing face masks and cleaning their hands.

Many Filipinos fail to abide by physical distancing protocols: OCTA survey

Some 67 percent of the respondents interviewed also said they were able to practice physical distancing.

The uptick in fresh COVID-19 infections also came in the wake of the government easing travel protocol across provinces and cities in late February. The new rules include the removal of mandatory COVID-19 testing and quarantine for local travelers except if they exhibit virus symptoms.

Densing defended this move and said the unified travel protocols are “backed up by science.” He also noted that if only the travelers strictly observe minimum health measures, the spread would at least be prevented.

“When we made the standard protocols for travel, the key agency there was our Department of Health and our resident epidemiologist… So [if] the traveler practices minimum health standards—and this I emphasize with our local officials—there’s 95 percent chance of less transmissibility,” he said.

Earlier in the hearing, the official told lawmakers that close to 80 to 90 percent of LGUs have complied with 3 mandates following the unified travel protocols:

Travelers don’t need travel authority from the Philippine Natioanal Police

Medical certificate from the LGU of origin is no longer required there is no required quarantine upon arrival of travelers except for those who have symptoms

He also expects the rollout of an application that can be used by travelers within the next 2 weeks to advise them on travels. (MNS)

ufacturer to apply for emergency use in the Philippines. However, other firms that applied much later have already received their authorization.

The Russian company previously told the Philippine government that it could supply 50 to 100 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine to the country.

After criticism last year over an early rollout before the completion of its Phase 3 clinical trial, Russia's Sputnik V vaccine turned out to be 91.6% effective against symptomatic COVID-19 and 100% effective against severe and moderate disease, according to an interim analysis of the vaccine's Phase 3 trial results published in Lancet.

Sputnik V has so far been administered to more than two million people worldwide. (MNS)

More vax choices boost inoculations among health workers

MANILA (Mabuhay) — More and more health workers are getting vaccinated with the CoronaVac and AstraZeneca vaccines, with a health expert noting that the availability of the second brand of a vaccine for the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) has encouraged more vaccinations.

In a Laging Handa briefing on Wednesday, Dr. Anna Ong-Lim, a member of the Department of Health’s (DOH) Technical Advisory Group, said the vaccination drive among health workers have so far received a good response, noting that those apprehensive about CoronaVac’s “low” efficacy for preventing mild symptoms have been encouraged with the arrival of AstraZeneca vaccines.

“Dahil nagkaroon na ng ibang options, mas marami din nagkaroon ng encouragement na magpabakuna (Because of the addition of another option, more have been encouraged to get vaccinated),” Lim said.

However, she emphasized the importance of receiving any of the vaccines if they fit the criteria for inoculation.

“As long as nagpi-fit tayo sa criteria kung saan siya dapat gamitin mag-

'Pandemic fatigue' driving increase in COVID-19 cases, says expert

pabakuna na tayo kasi dagdag proteksyon talaga ‘to (As long as we fit the criteria on how it must be used then we should get vaccinated because this is increased protection),” Lim said.

Following reports of a decrease in efficacy of vaccines for other variants of the virus that causes the Covid-19, she said less protection is still better than having no protection at all.

“Kahit anong bakuna pa ang matanggap mo, kahit sabihin pa natin na medyo bumaba ang bisa niyan, meron pa rin kesa sa zero kung hindi ka nagpabakuna (Whatever vaccine you receive, even if it’s found that its efficacy lessened, it is still better than no protection at all if you don’t get inoculated),” Lim said.

Getting vaccinated, she said, is expected to decrease the severity of Covid-19 infections, noting that there is no information yet on whether vaccinations decrease transmission of the disease.

MANILA (Mabuhay) — The fresh spike in COVID-19 cases is mainly being driven by “pandemic fatigue,” an expert said Wednesday.

Dr. Edsel Salvana, a molecular biologist and Department of Health (DOH) advisor, said some Filipinos have eased their adherence to health protocols due to fatigue.

The Philippines has been battling COVID-19 for over a year now, with Filipinos close to marking one year under quarantine.

“Ang main driver talaga nito sa ngayon [ay] ‘yung tinawag na ‘pandemic fatigue’ dahil medyo nagre-relax talaga ‘yung mga tao dahil nakikita nila, ‘Ay well, everyone’s out naman. Okay naman pala,’” Salvana said.

“‘Yung virus hindi naman nagre-relax ‘yun eh, kaya tuloy-tuloy po ‘yung nangyayaring transmission,” he added.

The DOH similarly said the public’s relaxed observance of health protocols led to the spike in cases.

Salvana also noted that the new coronavirus variants that were recently detected in the country contributed to the case increase.

“‘Yung sa variant, sure, it certainly can be a factor. Pero ‘yung porsyento ng variants na nakikita natin sa mga tine-test natin na genomic sequencing is still low, mga 5%,” he said.

According to the DOH, only 350 to 750 samples nationwide are subjected to genome sequencing each week due to supply constraints.

Meanwhile, Salvana urged COVID-19-positive Filipinos to immediately undergo facility-based isolation to prevent further transmission within households, which experts from the OCTA Research group said affected the hike in the number of cases.

“Dapat hindi talaga siya manatili sa bahay lalung-lalo na kung wala siyang sariling kuwarto at hindi siya makaka-physical distance from the rest of the family,” he said.

The expert also said household contacts of a COVID-19 case should remain under home quarantine until they receive their test results.

The OCTA Research team earlier said COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila are increasing at a faster rate than last year’s. (MNS)

Vaccine passports not guarantee vs. transmissibility of Covid-19

MANILA (Mabuhay) — Health experts on Wednesday clarified that getting a vaccine passport after having been inoculated is not a guarantee that an individual will not spread or get infected with the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) anymore.

In a Laging Handa briefing on Wednesday, Dr. Anna Ong-Lim, a member of the Department of Health’s (DOH) Technical Advisory Group, said vaccine passports will merely serve as a record that an individual has been vaccinated.

“Hindi 'yung kapag nakapagbigay proof ka na nabakunahan ka na eh hindi ka na manghahawa at hindi ka (na) mahahawaan. And in fact, wala pa tayo ganun klaseng information (It won’t be because you already have proof that you’re vaccinated that you cannot infect or get infected. In fact, we don’t have that kind of information yet),” Lim said.

She noted that vaccinated individuals are expected to benefit from a

PHOTO BY JONATHAN CELLONA, ABS-CBN

decrease in the severity of Covid-19 symptoms and that there is no information yet on whether vaccination will decrease transmission of the disease.

“Kahit na nabakunahan na, ang mga healthcare workers pinag-iingat pa rin ang lahat kasi yun ngang paglipat ng sakit, whether mahawaan or manghawa, ay hindi kasama dun sa datos na hawak natin sa ngayon (Even after inoculation, our health workers are still being cautioned because the transmission of the disease is not included in the data that we have right now),” Lim said.

Dr. John Wong, a member of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infections Diseases–Technical Working Group on Data Analytics, said vaccine passports will be required mostly by businesses such as airline companies before allowing people inside their establishments.

However, he said, “it will take a while before the Philippines reaches that stage, where we'll be able to say somebody with a vaccination passport will not be able to transmit, that it will be safe.”

The spread of new variants

Meanwhile, Wong said the Philippine Genome Center has detected “several cases” of both the UK and South Africa variant of the virus that causes Covid-19, noting that the UK-variant was known to have increased transmissibility while the South Africa-variant is supposed to be resistant against vaccines.

He said the current surge of new cases of Covid-19 in the country may be caused by the UK-variant.

If over half of all cases in the National Capital Region (NCR) gets infected with the UK-variant, he said there may be an increase of “nine times more cases after a month.”

“So, we have to take precautions to avoid this,” Wong said. (MNS)