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(BusinessWorld) PHILIPPINE health authorities on Thursday said 116 more people had been infected with the more contagious Delta coronavirus variant, hours before Manila, the capital and nearby cities enter a strict lockdown to contain a fresh surge.

This brought the total Delta cases to 331 the Department of Health (DoH) said in a statement. It added that of the new Delta patients, 95 were locals, one was a returning migrant Filipino and 20 were still being verified.

Metro Manila will be under an enhanced community quarantine from Aug. 6 to 20 after researchers from the University of the Philippines warned that the variant from India might be freely roaming in the community.

Of the 95 local cases, 83 had addresses in the National Capital Region, three in Southern Tagalog, four in Central Visayas, two in the Davao region, and one each in Zamboanga Peninsula, Cagayan Valley and Ilocos region, the agency said.

The Health department reported 8,127 coronavirus infections on Thursday, bringing the total to 1.63 million.

The death toll rose to 28,427 after 196 more patients died, while recoveries increased by 4,343 to 1.53 million, it said in a bulletin.

There were 66,895 active cases, 94.6% of which were mild, 1.0% did not show symptoms, 1.9% were severe, 1.3% were moderate and 1.1% were critical… Read More

(GMA News) A supermarket in Quezon City became crowded on Thursday with residents stocking up on essential goods ahead of the enhanced community quarantine in Metro Manila from August 6 to 20.

According to Bernadette Reyes’ report on “24 Oras,” residents said they want to be prepared so they don’t need to go out of their homes during the ECQ enforces due to the threat of the more transmissible Delta variant.

Several senior citizens, who are not authorized persons outside their residence, also went grocery shopping because they might not be able to go out anymore.

“Senior na ako baka mamaya hindi ako makalabas sa bahay so namili na ako ngayong hapon,” Mercedes Escober said.

Meanwhile, the Department of Trade and Industry assured the public that there will be enough supply during the ECQ and that groceries, supermarkets and wet markets will remain open.

“Hindi naman tayo mawawalan ng supply at puwede naman pong lumabas para bumili ng essentials,” DTI Undersecretary Ruth Castelo said.

Earlier, the Quezon City government announced it will set a limit on the number of items or goods a person can buy during the ECQ. It also directed barangays to issue quarantine passes.

Quezon City Mayor Belmonte said the move is to prevent panic buying and hoarding… Read More

(CNN Philippines) Metro Manila — The province of Laguna and the cities of Iloilo and Cagayan de Oro will be placed under enhanced community quarantine from Aug. 6 to 15, Malacañang said on Thursday.

President Rodrigo Duterte approved the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force to place the areas under the strictest lockdown measure, his spokesperson Harry Roque said in a statement.

Parts of Calabarzon will also be placed under tighter quarantine protocols for the same period.

Cavite, Lucena City, and Rizal will be under modified ECQ, while Batangas and Quezon will be placed under general community quarantine with heightened restrictions.

Roque also announced that Iloilo province will be classified under MECQ until Aug. 15.

IATF officials earlier this week said they would review and evaluate whether to put Calabarzon or some areas in the region under ECQ amid rising COVID-19 cases.

Metro Manila will also be placed under hard lockdown until Aug. 20 to contain the spread of the highly contagious Delta coronavirus variant… Read More

(BusinessWorld) THE TRANSPORTATION department said Tuesday it is targeting to award the project management consultancy services contract for the first segment of the Mindanao Railway Project this week.

The Department of Transportation (DoTr) is “about to” award the contract,” it said in a statement to BusinessWorld. “We are targeting (it) for this week,” the department added.

The DoTr announced in December last year its invitation to shortlisted Chinese consultants to submit bids for the project management consultancy services contract that covers the Tagum-Davao-Digos segment of the railway.

In January, the department said three short-listed Chinese groups had submitted bids for the consultancy contract: the China Railways Design Corp. and Guangzhou Wanan Construction Supervision Co., Ltd. Consortium; China Railway Liuyuan Group Co., Ltd.; and CCCC Railway Consultants Group Co., Ltd.

The China-funded project has an approved budget of P3.09 billion for the consultancy services.

The department requires the completion of the detailed design and works within 17 months, with 33 months set as the period for the contractor to be engaged in pre-construction activities and the defects notification period.

The railway’s P82.9-billion first phase stretches from the Tagum Station and Depot in Davao del Norte to Digos City in Davao del Sur. It will have stations in

Carmen, Panabo, Santa Cruz, and three in Davao City including a sub-depot. .. Read More

(SunStar) THE Philippines on Tuesday, August 3, 2021, received another shipment of Moderna mRNA vaccines donated by the United States through the Covax Facility.

The 3,000,060 doses that arrived Tuesday make up the second tranche of donation from the US, which earlier sent 3,240,850 doses of the single-dose Janssen viral vector vaccine.

With this new shipment, Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque III said the Philippines has received 6,240,910 doses of vaccine from the US through Covax.

President Rodrigo Duterte, in his speech during the arrival ceremony, said the government will try to entice those who do not want to be vaccinated with the vaccines given by the US.

He said the “cooperation between the Philippines and the US in overcoming the pandemic highlights the deep friendship between the two countries.”

“Now, ensuring that these vaccines are brought to our people safely is a tedious and difficult process,” he said.

Duterte said the government will comply with the US government’s sentiment that the vaccines it donated go first to the poor.

“Rest assured, everybody will follow that directive. Let us beat Covid together,” he said.

US Embassy Charge d’Affaires John Law, for his part, noted that the US, as the biggest contributor to Covax, has facilitated the delivery of more than 13 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to the Philippines… Read More

(CNN Philippine) Metro Manila – The National Capital Region has returned to “high risk” classification due to rising COVID-19 cases, according to the Department of Health.

Aside from NCR, the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Visayas, and Northern Mindanao are also under “high risk,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a press briefing Tuesday.

Vergeire added that the six regions saw an increase in their average daily attack rates (ADAR), or the number of confirmed cases in a certain area or population.

The ADAR of the following regions from July 20 to Aug. 2 are as follows:

– NCR: 8.96
– Central Visayas: 8.79
– Ilocos Region: 8.47
– Cagayan Valley: 7.50
– CAR: 7.48
– Northern Mindanao: 7.47.. Read More

(GMA News) House-to-house vaccination during the implementation of enhanced community quarantine in Metro Manila would be risky especially with the inclement weather, an official of the Department of Interior and Local Government has said.

“It’s not feasible during the rainy season. We are putting their health at risk if we do that,” DILG spokesman Jonathan Malaya told GMA News Online when asked about conducting home vaccination during ECQ enforcement in the metropolis.

President Rodrigo Duterte has criticized local government units (LGUs) for making people wait in line and under the rain for COVID-19 vaccines.

Home vaccination remained available only for bed-ridden patients, Malaya said.

Asked if local government units should provide free transportation for vaccine recipients, Malaya said public transportation would be available over the ECQ.

“Those to be vaccinated will have no trouble going to the vaccination sites,” Malaya said.

The national government placed the National Capital Region under ECQ from August 6 to August 20 to suppress the spread of the highly contagious Delta coronavirus variant.

While the economy has yet to recover, this is the third time that Metro Manila, center of the country’s economy, was put under the strictest form of lockdown due to possible surge of coronavirus disease… Read More

(BusinessWorld) SEVERAL LOCAL governments across the country are taking various measures to prevent a surge in coronavirus cases amid the threat of the more transmissible Delta variant.

In Iloilo City, the regional center of Western Visayas in central Philippines, Mayor Jerry. P. Treñas announced Monday morning that a “stricter lockdown” will be imposed this week to Sunday.

“From Aug. 3 to 8, I will place the city on hard lockdown as protection for everyone here. Aklan and Cebu are both experiencing a surge; their hospitals are full with patients already being confined outside the facility. We don’t want the same scenario in Iloilo City,” he said in a statement.

The city is already under the enhanced community quarantine from Aug. 1 to 7, the second strictest lockdown level.

Non-essential establishments or those not related to food and medicine will be temporarily closed. A total liquor ban that prohibits sale and consumption of alcoholic drinks will be imposed, according to the statement.

All inbound flights and sea travel will be suspended from Aug. 4 to 8, and all travelers will be banned during the five-day period.

In Easter Visayas, the regional Health office is expanding contact tracing to the “third generation level” of the positive patient. It also asked local governments, through the barangay health emergency response teams, to ensure isolation in a facility or home quarantine for second and third generation contacts.

Over the weekend, the regional office confirmed 10 Delta variant cases, which were all “considered to be local cases because there were no recorded travel history outside the region amongst them.”

Zamboanga City, in the southwestern part of the country, has declared a no-movement day during the first three Sundays of the month despite being under the general community quarantine, the most relaxed lockdown level. The city also maintains the requirement of a negative RT-PCR test result for all inbound travelers.

Baguio City, a popular tourist destination in northern Luzon, is banning non-essential travelers “regardless of place of origin” starting July 31.

The local government, in a statement, said this will be in effect “tentatively” for one week… Read More