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(BusinessWorld) PHILIPPINE health authorities reported 356 new coronavirus infections on Monday, the lowest daily tally since July 2 last year, bringing the total to 2.84 million.

The death toll hit 49,591 after 92 more patients died, while recoveries increased by 871 to 2.77 million, it said.

Of the 92 reported deaths, 18% occurred in November, the agency said.

There were 13,026 active cases, 899 of which did not show symptoms, 5,314 were mild, 3,900 were moderate, 2,326 were severe, and 587 were critical.

It said 26% of intensive care units in the Philippines were occupied, while the rate for Metro Manila was 29%.

The Health department said six duplicates were removed from the tally, six of which were reclassified as recoveries, while 87 recoveries were relisted as deaths.

It added that 159 patients had tested negative and were removed from the tally. Of these, 157 were recoveries… Read More

(CNN Philippines) Metro Manila — The Supreme Court (SC) has deliberated and ruled on the controversial anti-terrorism law, an official confirmed on Tuesday.

In a statement, SC Public Information Office chief Atty. Brian Hosaka said there would be a thorough review of the justices’ votes given a string of issues resolved in the case.

“Considering that there were numerous issues resolved in the case, as well as the fact that each Justice had to vote on each issue, there is a need to accurately confirm and tally the vote of each Justice in order to ensure the correct resolution of the Court per issue,” Hosaka said.

He vowed the high court would release an “accurate summary” of its action on the highly-contested measure “at the soonest possible time.”.. Read More

(CNN Philippines) Metro Manila — The “weak explosion” at Mt. Pinatubo reported Tuesday afternoon has been confirmed as a phreatic or steam-driven explosion by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).

“Based on visual reports of an eruption plume and seismic, infrasound and satellite detection, DOST-Phivolcs confirms that a phreatic eruption occurred at Pinatubo Crater between 12:09 and 12:13 p.m.,” the agency said in an update posted on social media.

Phivolcs earlier said they were assessing the recorded explosion, which produced a plume, to determine its source.

“Considering that there has been very low seismic activity in the volcano in the past days and low diffuse volcanic CO2 flux measured at Pinatubo Crater Lake, and high infrasound over seismic energy released by the eruption, the event was likely driven by shallow hydrothermal processes beneath the edifice,” Phivolcs said… Read More

(Reuters) MANILA – The Philippines on Sunday further tightened border controls to keep out the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus, adding seven European countries to a travel ban that initially covered seven African nations.

The Omicron variant kept spreading around the world on Sunday, with 13 cases found in the Netherlands and two each in Denmark and Australia.

The Philippines coronavirus task force placed Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium and Italy under its so-called “red list” until Dec. 15, banning the entry of travellers from these countries.

The ban initially covered South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini, and Mozambique… Read More

(CNN Philippines) Metro Manila — The Inter-Agency Task Force has banned inbound travellers from seven more countries amid the threat of the new COVID-19 variant Omicron.

In addition to South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini, and Mozambique, the government included in the “red list” Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, and Italy effective Nov. 28 until Dec. 15.

Only Filipinos returning to the country via repatriation flights may be allowed entry, subject to prevailing protocols for “red list” countries, the IATF added.

The government clarified that travelers already in transit and those who have been to the red list countries within 14 days before 12:01 a.m. of November 30 shall not be subject to this entry restriction. But they shall be required to undergo facility-based quarantine for 14 days with testing on the 7th day.

The IATF also directed the Bureau of Quarantine and the Department of the Interior and Local Government to locate passengers who arrived within 14 days before November 29 from red-listed countries. The said passengers must complete a 14-day home quarantine and undergo an RT-PCR test if symptoms develop.

On the other hand, although the Omicron variant was already detected in Hong Kong, the government said travellers from the administrative region should follow protocols for “yellow list” countries… Read More

(BusinessWorld) THE budget deficit eased to a six-month low in October even as it widened year on year, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) reported.

Preliminary data from the BTr showed the fiscal gap stood at P64.3 billion in October, or 4.77% higher than a year ago. This was 64.46% lower than the P180.9-billion deficit in September and was the lowest since the P44.4-billion gap in April.

Government spending jumped by 9.60% to P317.4 billion in October from a year earlier, but was lower than the P412.4 billion in September.

“Ninety percent or P285.8 billion of the total disbursements for the month was for primary expenditures, which posted 6.86% or P18.3-billion growth for the month,” the Treasury said in a statement.

Primary spending refers to total expenditures minus interest payments. Interest payments grew by 42.89% to 31.5 billion in October.

Meanwhile, state revenues jumped by 10.9% to P253.1 billion in October. Accounting for 87% of the total, tax revenues went up by 7.21% to P219.1 billion year on year… Read More

(CNN Philippines) Metro Manila — The Philippine government will not yet declare that the COVID-19 pandemic is already under control in the country, a Health department official said Thursday.

“We are not going to declare this soon,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a message to reporters. “We are just coordinating with WHO (World Health Organization) on the process and the determinants of disease control or containment.”

In an earlier television interview, Health Secretary Francisco Duque said the agency may ask the WHO if the pandemic in the Philippines can be declared contained should the positivity rate continue to be low.

The positivity rate — or percentage of tested people with positive results — stayed below 5% for the 13th day in a row on Thursday.

A positivity rate of 5% or below is the ideal percentage under WHO standards… Read More

(CNN Philippines) Metro Manila — The country’s new COVID-19 cases topped 2,000 for the first time in 11 days on Sunday, while the death toll climbed past 47,000, according to the Department of Health.

The DOH listed 2,227 new infections, bringing the overall count to 2,826,410. The last time the single-day tally reached 2,000 was on Nov. 10.

Of the total cases, the report showed that 0.7%, or 21,101, are active, with 56.9% tagged as mild, 4.4% as asymptomatic, 20.30% as moderate, 13% as severe, and 5.5% as critical.

Meanwhile, total deaths are now at 47,074 after 175 more fatalities were confirmed. The DOH said the new additions include 147 cases it mistakenly announced as survivors in earlier reports… Read More