The town of Matuguinao in Samar, once infested by communist rebels, now holds the honor of being the first municipality in the province to attain 70 percent coverage in the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccination, the regional health office here said late Tuesday. As of November 30, the town’s health workers managed to administer Covid-19 vaccines to 3,816 individuals, representing 70.4 percent of the 5,420-target population, according to the Department of Health (DOH) 8 (Eastern Visayas). About 26 percent have received complete doses. “Mayor Aran Boller strategized in encouraging its constituents to receive their shots by giving free packs of
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has entered NBA health and safety protocols after testing positive for coronavirus, the US basketball league announced on Tuesday. “The Lakers learned of James’ situation Tuesday morning, coach Frank Vogel said, and arranged for transportation to take him back to Los Angeles from Sacramento,” where the team was for an away game, said an NBA statement. With the result, James could be benched for a minimum of 10 days unless he returns two negative PCR tests in 24 hours, it added. James is the 17th player known to have entered the league’s health and
A Philippine Army official has warned residents in remote communities in Leyte of the New People’s Army’s (NPA) recruitment strategy this pandemic. Brig. Gen. Zosimo Oliveros, Philippine Army’s 802nd Infantry Brigade commander, said on Wednesday the NPA has been concentrating on organizing groups of farmers, taking advantage of their need for livelihood opportunities during this health crisis. “People in far-flung areas are being organized and they were promised with assistance for them to cope up with the impacts of Covid-19 pandemic. They are not aware that they are being exploited by the NPA,” Oliveros told reporters. The official believes that
Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Wednesday said he supports the mandatory vaccination of Filipinos against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). “Yes, it should be mandatory. Everyone should contribute to the health of the community. Those unvaccinated are vulnerable (to) getting the virus and getting seriously sick,” Lorenzana, who is also chairperson of the National Task Force Against Covid-19, told reporters when asked on his opinion on the measure. Aside from burdening the state by their hospitalization, Lorenzana said unvaccinated people also contribute to the spread of infections. While admitting that mandatory vaccination is difficult without an
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres argued on Tuesday that “the only way out of a global pandemic and out of this unjust and immoral situation is through a global vaccination campaign.” The secretary-general was speaking at a meeting at the UN headquarters in New York of Foreign Ministers of the Group of 77 (G77) and China, where he noted that the Covid-19 pandemic “continues to wreak havoc” on developed and developing countries alike. He said the UN stands behind the vaccination strategy set out by the World Health Organization, with the goal of getting vaccines into the arms of 40
Three expatriates and a Filipino, who recently arrived in Negros Occidental from South Africa, will undergo swab tests for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) on Wednesday. Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said the four arrived in the country before travelers from African countries were banned in the Philippines starting Nov. 28 to prevent the entry of the new Covid-19 variant, Omicron. “They were accepted by the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) because last week, South Africa was still a ‘green’ list country,” Lacson said. The three foreigners work as consultants for a power firm operating the two solar power plants in Negros Occidental
