Uniform protocols for arriving int’l travelers starting Feb. 1

FILE PHOTO

By THIRD ANNE PERALTA-MALONZO

THE National Government will implement uniform entry, testing and quarantine protocols for all international arriving Filipinos and foreign nationals regardless of their country of origin, acting presidential spokesperson Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said Friday, January 28, 2022.

Nograles said starting February 1, Tuesday, the government will no longer implement the Red, Yellow and Green country classification, the guidance being used to identify the entry, testing and quarantine protocols of arriving international travelers.

He said the entry, testing and quarantine protocols of arriving international travelers will already depend on their vaccination status.

For fully vaccinated international arriving passengers, they will be required to present a negative RT-PCR test taken within 48 hours prior to departure from the country of origin.

Upon arrival in the Philippines, they will no longer be required to observe mandatory facility-based quarantine and should instead self-monitor for any signs or symptoms within seven days with the date of arrival as their first day.

Fully vaccinated arriving travelers are required to coordinate with their respective local government units upon the manifestation of symptoms.

They should also present their proof of vaccination recognized by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF), such as the World Health Organization Certificates of Vaccination and Prophylaxis, VaxCertPH and national digital certificate of foreign governments that also accept the country’s VaxCertPH.

For unvaccinated, partially vaccinated or individuals whose vaccination status cannot be verified, they will be required to present a negative RT-PCR test taken within 48 hours prior to departure from the country of origin and undergo a facility-based quarantine until the release of a negative RT-PCR test taken on the fifth day upon arrival.

“Afterwhich, they shall be required to undergo home quarantine until their 14th day,” said Nograles.

“The local government units of destination and their respective Baranagay Health Emergency Response Teams are tasked to monitor those arriving passengers undergoing home quarantine,” he added.

Nograles said children 12 years old and below who cannot be vaccinated should follow the quarantine protocol of their adult companion.

Those who are currently undergoing quarantine may avail themselves of these protocols by February 1. (SunStar Philippines)

IATF places 6 areas under Alert Level 3

by Argyll Cyrus Geducos, Manila Bulletin

The government’s pandemic task force has escalated six areas to Alert Level 3 due to the rising number of local coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases.

El Nido is a municipality on Palawan Island. It is one of the most popular destinations in the Philippines thanks to its absolutely stunning islands and beaches. (Photo by Erwin Lim, courtesy of the Department of Tourism)

In a statement, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said that the Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases decided to raise the classification of the following areas from Alert Level 2 to Alert Level 3:

• Palawan
• Camiguin
• Davao Occidental
• Dinagat Islands
• Tawi-Tawi
• Sulu

The new risk classification will take effect on Jan. 28 and will last until Feb. 15.

As for Metro Manila, whose Alert Level 3 status will lapse on Jan. 31, Nograles had said that the IATF will make the announcement regarding its status this weekend or before Feb. 1.

4 out of 5 vaccinated Filipinos willing to get booster shots – SWS survey

By MANILA BULLETIN

Four out of five or 80 percent of vaccinated adult Filipinos are willing to get a booster dose of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine, results of the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey revealed on Thursday, Jan. 27.

This figure is composed of 73 percent surely and 7 percent probably, SWS said.

The nationwide survey done face-to-face from Dec. 12 to 16, 2021, among 1,440 respondents also found that 7 percent said they are unwilling (3 percent probably not, 3 percent surely not, correctly rounded) to get a booster shot.

The little things as a way to God

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

MAKE no mistake about this. The little, ordinary things of our daily life can and should be pathways to reach and be with God. This truth of our Christian faith has been amply proclaimed by Christ in many of the parables he used to describe how the kingdom of God is.

“This is how it is with the Kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how,” he said (Mk 4,26-27), practically telling us that the heaven can be reached through the daily routine we have.

Still more, he said, “To what shall we compare the Kingdom of God…it is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.” (Mk 4,31-32)

We have to be strongly reminded that God is everywhere and is always intervening in our lives. He is actually directing our life toward himself, since that is will for us, as it is for all his creation. He is never absent in our life, even in our worst moments. He is always solicitous of our needs, giving us light and strength, and showering us with his love that also teaches us how to suffer the unavoidable troubles we will have in this life.

The challenge for us is how to correspond properly to this truth of our faith, to this reality of our life. Again, we cannot overemphasize our need to spend time to develop a contemplative spirit even while immersed in our worldly affairs, so that we can always be in God’s presence and know how to correspond to his abiding interventions. 

And so, we can be sure that Christ is always in our daily routine and in the little, ordinary things of our daily life. We have to learn how to perceive the divine in the mundane. We have to learn to find Christ in the little things which comprise most of our day, if not of our whole life. 

Let’s always remember that Christ is God made man. As God, he is involved in our creation, in our getting into existence. As such, since its existence is involved in creation, he cannot withdraw from us, since by doing so would be like God withdrawing from our existence. Since we obviously exist, ergo, he is in and with us by the very fact of our existence.

As God and man, he is our redeemer, the one who, in a manner of speaking, would redo or re-create us after our original state of humanity has been damaged by our sin. 

As such, since we all need to be redeemed at all times, he neither can withdraw from us, since by doing so would be like God-and-man, Jesus Christ, withdrawing from our redemption. Since we need to be redeemed always, Christ is also always with us. He actually cannot help but redeem us, because of his great love for us.

We need to be more aware of this reality about ourselves, since we often do not realize it, dominated as we are with the merely material and sensible realities and with what is the here-and-now and what is immediately felt. We many times fail to go beyond this level.

* Chaplain Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE), Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

PH detects 618 more Omicron variant cases

File photo

By THIRD ANNE PERALTA-MALONZO, SunStar Manila

THE country has detected 618 more cases of the highly transmissible Omicron variant of Sars-CoV-2, which causes the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), pushing the total tally to 1,153, the Department of Health (DOH) said on Thursday, January 27, 2022.

The 618 newly detected Omicron cases were among the 677 samples that underwent the latest genome sequencing.

The DOH said the “stealth Omicron” or the BA.2 sub-lineage, which was first detected in the country in December 2021, was found to be the majority of Omicron cases in the latest batch.

Of the 618 additional Omicron cases, 497 were local cases, while 121 were returning overseas Filipinos.

A total of 13 cases were still active, two had died, 560 were tagged as recovered and 43 were still being verified.

Of the local cases, 238 were in Metro Manila, 71 in Calabarzon, 30 in Ilocos Region and Western Visayas, 27 in Central Luzon, 20 in Central Visayas and 19 in Cagayan Valley.

Thirteen cases were also detected in Cordillera Administrative Region, 10 in Davao Region, six in Soccsksargen, two in Bicol Region, and one each in Mimaropa and Northern Mindanao.

Earlier, the DOH said five individuals who were infected with the Omicron variant have died.

It said all of the five fatalities had comorbidities. One of them was partially vaccinated, one was unvaccinated, while the vaccination status of the three were still being verified.

The country is experiencing another surge in Covid-19 cases believed to be driven by the Omicron variant.

On Monday, January 24, Health Secretary Francisco Duque said Covid-related deaths are increasing amid the Omicron-driven surge, with an average of 25 deaths per day. (SunStar Philippines)

PLGU-DdO holds health forum on Omicron Variant

 

More than four hundred (400) public school teachers in Davao de Oro took part in the recently conducted health forum on Covid-19 Omicron variant by PLGU-Davao de Oro in collaboration with the   PIA XI (Philippine Information Agency) held via online platform last January 25, 2022.

The new omicron variant has spread rapidly and ripped communities since its emergence, but experts say it’s less severe in nature as hospitalizations and mortality rate is lower than the previous surges, but shouldn’t be underestimated as viruses replicate and mutates fast.

Dr. Kathryn Uy Roa, Internal Medicine-Infectious Diseases for Public Health encouraged the public to get their booster doses of the Covid-19 vaccine to safeguard one’s health from the mutations of the Covid-19 virus.

Governor Tyron Uy also attended the forum and informed the public of his condition after getting infected with the virus. The governor also maximized online platforms to continue serving the public while in isolation and stressed that the only solution to the crisis is to get vaccinated.

Overall, the online health forum reached a thousand views and engagements from online viewers of the province’s official Facebook Pages. PLGU-DdO and PIA plan to reach out to the Women’s Sector as the country prepares for the vaccination of the pediatric population aged 5-11 years old. (JA, PAO-IPRD)

Giving our all

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

THIS, I believe, is what Christ is telling us when he said, “Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket or under a bed, and not to be placed on a lampstand?...The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you, and still more will be given to you. To the one who has, more will be given; from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”  (cfr. Mk 4,21-25)

Of course, with due consideration to the necessity of prudence, discretion and naturalness in our earthly affairs, we should realize that we have to give our all in serving God and everybody else. That is the law that should govern our whole life. It can only mean that we are truly motivated by love which in the end is the very essence and purpose of our humanity, if we are to become God’s image and likeness as we are meant to be.

Let’s remember Christ’s words that encourage us to be generous, “Without cost you have received. Without cost you are to give.” (Mt 10,8) If we put these words into deeds, we would be reflecting the very love and life of God who has given us everything, including the Son to become man as an expiation for all our sins. We should not be afraid to give our all to God and to others, regardless of the sacrifices that would be involved.

  Thus, in Christ’s commissioning of his disciples that should include all of us, his believers and followers, he encourages us not to worry so much about what to have or what to bring. “Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts; no sack for the journey, or a second tunic, or sandals or walking stick. The laborer deserves his keep.”

We need to develop a keen sense of generosity and self-giving that is also a result of detachment. Let’s never forget that whatever we have comes from God who wants us to work for the common good. Thus, we hear St. Paul saying, “What do you have that you did not receive?” (1 Cor 4,7) Whatever we have should be shared with others—of course, in a certain way proper to God’s moral law for us.

We have been reminded of this need to cultivate generosity in the gospel. “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions,” Christ said. (Lk 12,15) 

We are told not to lay up treasures for oneself but rather to be rich toward God, that is, to be generous with God and with everybody else. Avarice, hoarding, simply pursuing our self-interest and personal welfare are actually inhuman, let alone, unchristian.

It’s also good for us to remember that there is such a thing as “universal destination of earthly goods.” That’s an official part of our Christian doctrine. “In the beginning God entrusted the earth and its resources to the common stewardship of mankind to take care of them, master them by labor, and enjoy their fruits. The goods of creation are destined for the whole human race.” (CCC 2402)

* Chaplain Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE), Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

FRIENDS IN TIMES OF COVID

Among the several waves of change we surfed through the last two years, the one that wiped out many sand castles was a tidal wave that impacted friendships. Many, of course, survived and built endurance. But whether dissolved with distance or evolved and redefined, the impact of COVID on friendships has been undeniable.

While some people may have always found it challenging to make friends, many found the task even more daunting during the COVID-19 pandemic thanks to limited social interaction. Even as the world continues to reopen very slowly, increases in remote work mean that people's social lives look considerably different.

During times of stress and change, however, it's still possible to engage with others and build friendships—it just may look a bit different than you're used to. More importantly should be to keep friendships within these times. But this seems for many of us to be very difficult even online and especially by social networking.

When making the effort to create new or rebuild older friendships, it's worth taking the time to think about what you need out of a friendship. For instance, if you believe that you need shared equity values with others to develop a bond of friendship, then that may be easier to find in an activist space.

If you find that you like to have shared interests and hobbies it might be helpful to meet others who are already involved in the things you enjoy. It is important to note that friendships require consent from all parties and it often takes time to develop trust with new people.

We need the support of our friends, but it can be tough to stay close when you can't meet up in person. There are always some ways to nourish your friendships during the era of safer-at-home. Sue Scheff is the author of Shame Nation: The Global Epidemic of Online Hate. She recently penned a story on Psychology Today on the unraveling of friendships during this time. “We have seen the unraveling of friendships during Covid-19 when people don’t agree on masks or whether they should be getting a hair-cut or going to restaurants,” she says. “The truth is, everyone has their own comfort level, we need to respect it, and if we don’t agree with it, we are witnessing (what was once close relationships) now crumble.” Sad to say but very true...!

There's also the additional layer of trust (or mistrust) that gets heaped on top of the current situation. According to a study published in the Journal of Health Psychology in August 2021, it turns out more people are lying in the current era. For their own reasons, some friends might conceal that they have been feeling ill or that they have widened their "pandemic pod" to others who are not practicing safe social distancing. While it may seem like it's not a big deal, the truth is, lying about your behavior or how you feel can endanger the lives of the friends you care the most about.

I never ever talked about myself on social networks if I really felt bad or sick. But one thing I found out during the last year: more and more "friends" left or remain mute on social networks. Maybe, because I didn't join the open circle of bad and negative daily posts. Or these friends are like me: I am still trying to look on the bright side of the street - even times like now.

Assistance needed for sick workers on home quarantine

by Manila Bulletin

The past few days saw a surge in the number of new COVID-19 cases. In fact, last Jan. 15, 2022, new cases reached 39,004, marking a grim milestone since the start of the pandemic. This surge was attributed to the Omicron variant — now becoming the dominant strain — which is more transmissible, even three to five times potent than Delta. This was evidenced by a high household transmission rate, where one infected individual could lead to infecting everyone at home.

Though the World Health Organization (WHO) has cautioned that the Omicron is still “dangerous” and may still cause death, data has revealed that this variant appears to be less threatening especially among the vaccinated. Thus, a majority of the infected were able to recover through home isolation, utilizing home remedies that ease the virus’ symptoms.

With this scenario, a majority of the workforce who were infected were in self-imposed home quarantine. Depending on the number of days and pursuant to their company’s policies, this has affected their take-home pay, which negatively impacts their capability to pay rent, electricity, and even for medicines. A lot of them have acceded to the government’s call to self-isolate but how are they now, especially if they are on a “no-work, no-pay” basis?

One of the government’s responses to assist the infected workers in home confinement is through the Social Security System (SSS). In a statement, the SSS clarified that members who cannot work due to sickness or injury and are confined, either in a hospital or at home for at least four days, could avail of the sickness benefit. Aside from employed members, SSS also grants sickness benefits to self-employed, voluntary, and OFW members.

The statement added that COVID-infected members in home confinement can “qualify under the program if they have paid at least three monthly contributions within the last 12 months before the semester of sickness or injury and are confined either in a hospital or at home for at least four days.”

This is welcome news for employed members. But they “should have used all their current company sick leave with pay and notified their employer about their sickness.” On the other hand, self-employed, voluntary, and OFW members and those separated from employment must notify SSS directly.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) also called on the private sector to assist their employees who are sick. In an advisory, the department “urged employers, in consultation with their employees, to adopt and implement an appropriate paid isolation and quarantine leave program on top of existing leave benefits under the company policy, Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Labor Code, and special laws.” It added that the “paid isolation and quarantine leaves shall be without prejudice to other benefits provided by the SSS and the Employees’ Compensation Commission.”

These are all welcome developments to assist the majority of workers who were sick these past few days. But going back to our question earlier, how about workers in the informal sector? The contractual workers? Or those who have no SSS membership?

The government, in its pursuit to provide a convenient life for all, must now make it up to the sick who risked a few days’ worth of income just to stay at home. After all, when these workers were well, they moved the wheels of the economy for the benefit of all. The government now owes them the best response.

Octa: Cebu City remains at ‘very high risk’ for Covid-19

(File photo)

By THIRD ANNE PERALTA-MALONZO

CEBU City, one of the major cities in the country, remains at “very high risk” for coronavirus disease (Covid-19) and cases “could be peaking there soon,” Octa Research fellow Dr. Guido David said Wednesday, January 26, 2022.

David said Cebu City’s seven-day average cases increased from 325 from January 12 to 18 to 722 from January 19 to 25, while its one-week average daily attack rate (Adar) rose from 31 to 69.

Its seven-day positivity rate also went up from 36 percent from January 12 to 18 to 40 percent the following week.

However, the reproduction number in the city, which refers to the number of people being infected by one case, declined from 4.64 to 2.99, but is still on “very high risk” classification.

Octa also noted the increase in the healthcare utilization from 45 percent from January 12 to 18 to 68 percent from January 19 to 25.

The intensive care unit occupancy in Cebu City also went up by over 100 percent or from 28 percent to 42 percent.

As of January 25, Cebu City has a total of 5,961 active Covid-19 cases, or at least 2.4 percent of the country's total active cases, according to the Department of Health.

A total of 50,525 Covid-19 cases have been recorded in the city, with 1,440 deaths. (SunStar Philippines)