The Department of Health on Tuesday reported 21 new cases of coronavirus disease 2019 variants in Eastern Visayas. Of the new cases, 17 are the highly transmissible Delta variant, three cases of P.3 or designated as variant under investigation, and one case of Beta variant. “With this recent addition, there are now a total of 31 cases of the Delta Variant identified and tagged in the region,” Jelyn Lopez-Malibago, DOH regional information officer, said in a press briefing. Some 18 of the 21 new cases belong to the set of 104 samples sent to the Philippine Genome Center for whole-genome
Governor Dennis Pineda on Tuesday asked the envoy of Pope Francis, Archbishop Charles John Brown, to bless the Kapampangans amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic. “Please bless all our citizens, local officials, and hardworking front-liners so that we can be able to manage and overcome the pandemic that has affected us,” the governor said in a program held for the civil reception of Archbishop Brown, the Papal Nuncio to the Philippines. The Papal Nuncio is scheduled to celebrate the holy mass on Wednesday (Sept. 8) at San Vicente Ferrer Parish in Barangay Calulut here to commemorate the canonical coronation
Authorities on Tuesday arrested the consignee of a shipment of kush or high-grade marijuana worth over PHP2 million in Marikina City. In a statement, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) said the consignee identified as Arthur Antonio was arrested in a controlled delivery operation conducted by a composite team from the BOC-Port of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). It added that the shipment was declared as cookies, balloons, toys and school supplies and was shipped from California, USA by a certain Allan Gatchalian. However, examination revealed that the package contained 1.8 kilograms of kush. Further investigation is underway against the claimant
An additional 164 nurses were deployed to private and public hospitals in Cebu to augment the existing healthcare workers manning coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) beds, the Department of Health (DOH) in Region 7 on Tuesday said. In a statement, DOH-7 regional director Dr. Jaime Bernadas said the deployment of more nurses to Cebu hospitals is part of the agency’s commitment to continue providing for medical personnel in different coronavirus-dedicated facilities to bring down Covid-19 cases. Additional nurses were also deployed to the Cebu City Emergency Operations Center (EOC). Of this number, 40 were assigned to Chong Hua Hospital, 28 to
Local government units (LGUs) in Leyte have hoisted the Philippine flag at half-mast to honor former governor Leopoldo Petilla who died Sunday night of “cardiac arrest complicated by Covid-19 (coronavirus disease 2019).” In her statement issued late Monday, Palo town Mayor Ann Petilla said her father-in-law died while confined at a private hospital. “Due to this condition (complications due to Covid-19), his body will be laid to rest as soon as possible,” the mayor said. “He was a lawyer who fought for the rights of the poor and the underprivileged. He continued his advocacy during his term as governor of
Tax-evading Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) will not be allowed to operate amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, Malacañang said on Tuesday. Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said POGOs must settle their tax debts with the government first before they can resume their operations. Roque issued the statement after Senator Risa Hontiveros on Monday urged the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) to collect the outstanding debt of POGOs amounting to PHP1.365 billion. “Pero lahat po ng dapat bayaran ng mga POGO, dapat bayaran (POGOs must pay what they need to pay),” he said in a virtual press briefing. “Kung
