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(GMA News) The average number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the National Capital Region (NCR) dropped by 30% to 1,644 over the past week, the OCTA Research Group said Saturday.

In its latest report, the OCTA Research also said the reproduction rate in the NCR decreased to 0.57 while the positivity rate went down by 12%.

A reproduction number of one or higher is an indication of the continuous transmission of the virus.

The OCTA Research also reported that the average daily attack rate (ADAR) in the region decreased to 12 per 100,000.

According to the group areas with ADAR higher than 10 per 100,000 is classified by the Department of Helath (DOH) as high risk.

Meanwhile, Navotas, Malabon, Manila, and Caloocan decreased to below 10 per 100,000, which are classified as moderate risk by the DOH.

The Philippines has reported a total of 1,138,187 confirmed cases, of which 1,062,427 have recovered and 19,051 have died… Read More

(BusinessWorld) IT TOOK Nikko Lae D. Abdon, 30, nearly a week to find medicines for her 66-year-old uncle, who got admitted in an intensive care unit room at the San Lazaro Hospital in the Philippine capital.

The drug tocilizumab, which is mainly used to treat arthritis, worked wonders to alleviate his pain after he was diagnosed with a severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Doctors also gave him remdesivir, an anti-viral drug originally made to treat hepatitis C.

“We were grateful that the doctors were able to save him,” Ms. Abdon, who works as a nurse at the hospital, said in mixed English and Filipino by telephone. “I didn’t like how we really struggled to find the medicines.”

“I can only imagine how hard it might be for others to see their relatives suffer because they can’t afford the medicines,” she added.

Ms. Abdon said they spent P20,000 for a vial of tocilizumab and P52,000 for six vials of remdesivir at senior citizen discount rates.

Many coronavirus patients in the Philippines have had to pay for expensive medicines to ease their pain as drugs in public hospitals are depleted and given insufficient healthcare insurance coverage from the state.

San Lazaro Hospital — a 500-bed capacity state hospital for infectious diseases — receives only 50-100 vials of remdesivir a week… Read More

(Coconuts Manila) Two men who allegedly stole cellphones from patients who were staying in a quarantine facility were arrested in Naga City yesterday afternoon.

Francis Obanos Misenabre, 23, and Denver Sanchez Dagohoy, 39 were nabbed by the police in a manhunt. However, one of their alleged conspirators, a certain Saddam Villarino, remains at large.

The trio allegedly broke into a quarantine facility at the village of South Poblacion, located in the same city. The gang climbed the wall and sneaked into the room of the patients, where they stole six cellphones. The suspects fled from the crime scene, and while the patients and a security guard saw them, no one managed to stop the alleged thieves.

Misenabre and Dagohoy were arrested by the authorities at the latter’s home in the same village. They are now in the police’s custody but are staying at a cell of their own because they were exposed to COVID-19 patients.

Naga City police have said that this is the first time that a robbery had occurred at a quarantine facility.. Read More

(SunStar) ONE can whip up a delicious five-star meal right in his own kitchen with Plantation Prime’s Beef Shank Kare-Kare.

Made with the working consumer in mind, the boutique canned goods manufacturer is taking beloved Filipino dishes that usually require tedious preparation, and making them accessible and conveniently ready to eat.

With “Serving the global Filipino, from the Visayan archipelago” as its tagline, the brand first hit the shelves in August 2020, initially in Metro Ayala and via homegrown e-commerce platform CloudKart.

The Beef Shank Kare-Kare is best enjoyed by throwing in bok choy and eggplant, and topping it with a dollop of bagoong from Karenina’s Kitchen, also available on CloudKart.

During a virtual media conference on May 7, 2021, guests got a sneak peek of the second rollout, the ‘Longganiza’ in a can. Bicol Express, chili con carne and Filipino spaghetti sauce are in the pipeline as well.

For the month of May, CloudKart has a special treat for Cebuanos. They can get free delivery when they purchase at least P500 worth of Plantation Prime products.

Plantation Prime’s Beef Shank Kare-Kare and Longganiza both come in 420-gram cans and are available in major supermarkets in Cebu and Metro Manila, as well as in select grocery stores in Bohol and Mindanao… Read More

(PhilStar) MANILA, Philippines — It hasn’t been long since Filipino-American singer Olivia Rodrigo made her mark in the music scene with her debut single Drivers License. Since its release, it skyrocketed to the top of the charts and eventually became a viral hit.

As a newcomer, it was unexpected that her second single Déjà vu, from her upcoming debut album Sour, would top charts once again just like how its predecessor did. Even on video-sharing platform TikTok, users couldn’t get enough of her heart-wrenching songs.

With her complex voice, it’s really no surprise that Olivia is actually of Filipino heritage. She was raised by a Filipino father and German-Irish mother.

Though she has never been to the country, she’s familiar with one artist who caught her eye since they really do look alike. Turns out, Olivia is a fan of Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray who is also a singer.

“She has such a beautiful voice and sometimes I listen to her songs and I think she’s obviously stunning and an incredible person,” said Olivia.

If you can’t wait to see Olivia live, she’s just as excited as you are! She gushed that she would want to visit when the pandemic is finally over.

“I really wanna go visit one day so I’m really hoping that I can come to the Philippines sooner rather than later. I hear it’s amazing and I can’t wait to meet all my Filipino fans,” she said.

So what exactly has Olivia touched her songs with that made them so irresistible to almost everyone? Perhaps, her honesty all throughout the process of making Sour.

In a recent Zoom interview with Southeast Asia’s press people, the 18-year-old shared that she wrote all 11 songs on the album as honestly as she could.

She said it was an era in her life where it didn’t feel right to put love songs or happy upbeat tunes to the record. This was how, she said, the record turned out to follow a common “vibe” that many will resonate with.

Even with the global success of Drivers License and Déjà vu, Olivia’s relationship with music has never been about making a hit.

Just like her idol Taylor Swift, Olivia treats her songs like a diary that’s out and open to the world.

“There’s nothing like taking confusing feelings in your head and making a song about them,” she said, adding that songwriting has empowered her even when she’s feeling down or insecure… Read More

(GMA News) They could either line up for vaccination at the hospital or line up for cremation at the crematory, and for senior citizen Zenaida Cristobal, the choice was clear.

According to Mariz Umali’s report on “24 Oras,” this is what Cristobal tells other senior citizens who are hesitant to get inoculated against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

“Ewan ko sa inyo ha pero kung pila sa ospital, pila rin sa crematory, so it’s your choice. Ako ayaw kong pumila sa crematory. I just want my bakuna,” Zenaida Cristobal

(I don’t know about you, but if there’s a line at the hospital, there’s also a line at the crematory. So it’s your choice. I don’t want to line up in the crematory. I just want my vaccine.)

Cristobal was one of the senior citizens who lined up for her dose of Astrazeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine at the Ramon Magsaysay High School in Sampaloc, Manila.

Felito Ramirez, another senior citizen, was also glad to receive the vaccine.

“I would perhaps not go sa vaccination if it’s coming from say China or from Russia or— from Europe or from the States. I have more confidence in Western technology,” Ramirez said.

Meanwhile, 65-year-old cancer survivor Mary Ann Flores was okay with receiving any of the vaccines.

“Nu’ng tinanong ko sa aking surgeon and my cardio, they gave me thumbs up. And they told me to grab the vaccine. When I heard that we should reach herd immunity, sabi ko kailangan talaga,” Flores said.

(When I asked my surgeon and my cardio, they gave me a thumbs up. And they told me to grab the vaccine. When I heard that we should reach herd immunity, so I said we really need it.)

The Manila City Government received 45,600 doses of Astrazeneca’s vaccine. Of this, 18,000 has been set aside for the second dose of those who already received the vaccine… Read More

(Reportr) Former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV has expressed his intention to run for president in 2022 under the opposition coalition 1Sambayan if Vice President Leni Robredo decides to run for Camarines Sur governor.

Trillanes said he asked 1Sambayan to change his status to principal candidate for president vying for the coalition’s nomination from being only an alternate candidate to Robredo.

“In the event that VP Leni definitely decides to run for President before 1Sambayan picks its nominees in July, I would wholeheartedly step aside and withdraw my own candidacy in her favor,” the former senator said in his Facebook post.

“But until then, we would work on the assumption that VP Leni would run for Governor of CamSur and, thus, we could now start our own preparations focusing on the development of policy prescriptions to solve the different problems of our country,” he added.

Robredo “remains open to all options, including a candidacy for President,” her spokesperson Barry Gutierrez said in a tweet. He also denied that the vice president is preparing to run for governor in her home province… Read More

(SunStar) THE Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH 7) has yet to iron out supply chain arrangements prior to the distribution of the 29,250 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine delivered to the region on Tuesday morning, May 11, 2021.

Cebu City Health Department (CHD) officer-in-charge Jeffrey Ibones said a meeting has been set for Friday, May 14, to finalize allocations.

Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, DOH 7 spokesperson, said in a virtual briefing on Wednesday, May 12, that they have not determined the allocations for each local government unit (LGU).

Earlier, she said the vaccine will go to the three highly urbanized cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu, which have the capability to store the vaccine at ultra-low temperature.

Secondly, Loreche said they have yet to determine whether all 29,250 doses would be administered as first dose or half would be set aside for the second dose.

The Pfizer vaccine, which was developed based on the messenger RNA technology, is administered in two doses 21 days apart.

Thirdly, Loreche said the master list of recipients and substitution list has to be ready before the vaccine is taken out of the ultra-low cold storage facility.

Unopened vials of the vaccine may be stored for up to 30 days in the Pfizer thermal shipper with a temperature of -80 to -70 degrees Celsius.

From the Pfizer thermal shipper, the unopened vaccine may be transferred to freezers with temperature of -25 to -15 degrees Celsius for up to two weeks… Read More