Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez bared Wednesday he tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
“I had myself swabbed Sunday after exposure last Tuesday from a person who tested positive,” Lopez told trade reporters in a Viber message.
Lopez said he received his COVID-19 test result Monday and that his asymptomatic and in full isolation.
DOH study cost of free COVID-19 testing
THE Department of Health on Wednesday said it is now preparing an estimated budget on how much it would cost to offer free COVID-19 testing for all Filipinos.
“We are already looking into this and preparing for the budget that is needed to carry out the President’s directive,” Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said during a virtual briefing.
President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday complained about the expensive cost of polymerase chain reaction or PCR swab tests. He said if there is enough money, the government can buy testing kits and give the tests for free.
“It is a welcome news that our President would like to put in more resources in testing, so that it would not burden our people from the cost,” Duque said.
DOT condemns ‘reckless’ beach party
The Department of Tourism (DOT) on Wednesday condemned yet another “reckless” social gathering organized at the beachfront of a resort in Barangay Laiya, San Juan, Batangas.
The DOT said the mass gathering involved a large group of individuals partying without face masks and face shields, nor observance of physical distancing protocols at the beach of the resort.
It said this violates the guidelines set by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) for areas under general community quarantine.
Following the incident, the local government of San Juan revoked the business permit and filed appropriate charges against the erring establishment, which the DOT identified as the Blue Coral Beach Resorts, Inc. The same establishment was suspended from Sept. 2 to 17 after violating IATF-EID health protocols.
Seminars may become superspreaders
The OCTA Research Team has urged the national government to rethink its latest directives allowing conferences and seminars to resume in areas under general community quarantine (GCQ), as these events could become “superspreaders” of COVID-19.
The researchers, who have been tracking the COVID-19 pandemic, also asked the government to issue clearer guidelines to the public on activities for the holiday season to help ensure that the virus doesn’t spread.
“We understand the logic of economic promotion in these directives but given the reality of significant outbreaks still in many GCQ areas, we believe that these directives are risky and are opposed to good or sensible pandemic management,” they said.
Four local government units—Makati, Davao City, Mankayan, and Baguio City–were flagged as “high-risk” areas for COVID-19 due to their rising number of infections and hospital occupancy rates.
Hospitals told to stick to bed capacity plan
In preparation for a possible surge in COVID-19 cases after the holidays, the Department of Health (DOH) called on private hospitals to comply with the prescribed COVID-19 bed allocation.
In an administrative order issued in July, the DOH ordered public hospitals to allocate at least 30 percent of their total bed capacity for COVID-19 cases. Private hospitals were told to allot at least 20 percent.
As of Dec. 7, DOH recorded a nationwide average of 30 percent hospital bed allocation in public hospitals and 13 percent in private hospitals.
Evacuation centers behind uptick in cases
Research experts on Wednesday said COVID-19 cases went up in Cagayan and Isabela due to overcrowding in evacuation centers.
Dr. Guido David of the University of the Philippines-Institute of Mathematics and OCTA Research team said the increased COVID-19 infections in the two provinces might be due to congestion in evacuation centers.
In an interview over GMA-7’s Balitanghali, he said the spikes in Cagayan and Isabela could be attributed to typhoon “Ulysses” that battered provinces in North Luzon.
“We think that the evacuation (of typhoon victims) has something to do with the spikes in Cagayan and Isabela as well as in Pangasinan and Ilocos Norte,” he said.