Frohe Weihnachten / Merry Christmas

 

DoH braces for new Covid spike

By Kristina Maralit

THE Department of Health (DoH) on Monday gave assurances that the country's health facilities are ready for any spike in coronavirus disease infections that may be triggered by the entry of the highly transmissible Omicron BQ.1 subvariant.

Fourteen cases of BQ1 have been recorded in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Ilocos Region, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon), Central Visayas, and the National Capital Region (NCR).

   

BQ1 is a sublineage of the BA-5 subvariant, is more transmissible than the other subvariants and is immune evasive.

A triage system and step-down facilities are now in place should there be an increase in the health care utilization rate.

The DoH said that sticking to health protocols and strengthening of the country's health surveillance on infectious diseases are still the best defense against the virus.

"Kaya ang mas importante talaga ay pigilan ang pagpasa sa virus para maiwasan ang pag-mutate nito. At lalong importante na laging handa ang ating health care system to respond to these emerging variants (It's important to stop the spread of the virus to prevent its mutation. And it's more important that our health care system is always ready to respond to these emerging variants)," DoH Officer in Charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said.

She gave assurances that available Covid-19 jabs are effective against the virus and provide an added layer of protection against infections.

Meanwhile, infectious disease expert Dr. Edsel Salvaña said a spike in Covid-19 cases is likely to be seen during the holiday season but that it would not be as high as the first Covid wave.

"Should there be a higher number of cases, it won't be as big, I don't think it will surpass 5,000 cases. And again, most of these cases will be mild and won't need hospitalization," Salvaña said in a press briefing.

"So, if ever the number goes up, it is because of the activity of the public during Christmas. I do not think it will be as dramatic as the number of cases that we saw last January, after Christmas. I think what will happen here, although there might be an increase (in cases), it will be minimal because many are already vaccinated," he added.

He urged the public to help keep the number of positive cases at manageable levels amid the relaxed policy on the wearing of face masks.

IN PICTURES: Celebrities at ‘Star Magical Christmas’

by Stephanie Bernardino, MB

Several Kapamilya stars gathered recently for the thanksgiving party dubbed “Star Magical Christmas.”

Among those who made an extra effort in dressing up for the event were longtime reel and real couple Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla who dressed up as Nutcrackers along with Joshua Garcia and Ria Atayde.

Other lovers in attendance were RK Bagatsing-Jane Oineza, Ronnie Alonte-Loisa Andalio, and Michelle Vito-Enzo Pineda. 

Love team partners like KD Estrada-Alexa Ilacad, Francine Diaz-Seth Fedelin, and Andrea Abaya-Kobie Brown also walked the red carpet together.

Meanwhile, Maymay Entrata, Babie Imperial, Janella Salvador, and Heaven Peralejo went solo, same with Jake Ejercito, Edward Barber, Jake Cuenca, and Arjo Atayde.

Arjo and Ria’s mother, Sylvia Sanchez was accompanied by her husband Art Atayde.

Nikki Valdez, Dominic Ochoa, Angelica Panganiban, Dimples Romana, and Shaina Magdayao received their Star Magic Loyalty awardees at the event.

Big oil price cuts: Diesel down by P3.95/liter

 

Richmond Mercurio - The Philippine Star 

MANILA, Philippines — Oil firms are implementing today another round of price rollbacks, including a hefty one for diesel and kerosene.

In separate advisories yesterday, oil companies said diesel prices would go down by P3.95 per liter, gasoline by P0.85 per liter and kerosene by P2.65 per liter.

The price adjustments will take effect at 6 a.m. today for most companies, except for Caltex and Cleanfuel which started implementing the adjustments at 12:01 a.m.

The adjustments continue the streak of decline in diesel prices to six consecutive weeks and extend that of gasoline to a second straight.

Prices of gasoline last week dropped by P0.40 per liter, diesel by P2.15 per liter and kerosene by P2.10 per liter.

These resulted in a year-to-date net increase of P17.75 per liter for gasoline, P33.85 per liter for diesel and P27.85 per liter for kerosene, based on data from the Department of Energy.

DOE Oil Industry Management Bureau assistant director Rodela Romero earlier said there is no assurance that the rollbacks would continue in the coming weeks given that prices reflect movements in the international oil market.

However, for this week’s price reductions, she cited as among the factors the surge of COVID-19 cases in China, higher fuel inventory of the US which resulted in lower demand and the price cap on Russian crude.