Fair weather with isolated rains will prevail over most parts of the country, the weather bureau said Friday. In its 4 a.m. weather bulletin, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said the shear line affecting northern Luzon will bring scattered rain showers and thunderstorms over Cagayan Valley, Ilocos Norte and Apayao. “There will be light to moderate, with at times heavy rains, so take precautions against flooding and landslides,” PAGASA weather forecaster Benison Estareja said. He added that the shear line is forecast to bring rains over most of northern Luzon until the weekend. For the rest

Self-administered or home test kits for Covid-19 will yield inaccurate results if not used properly. To avoid false negative or false positive readings, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said they are consolidating the guidelines for the use of antigen kits. “’Yung mga self-administered test kits, may mga kanya-kanyang pamamaraan, ‘yung product label na nakalagay dun kung paano gagamitin so kinakailangan maging angkop ‘yung guidelines doon sa mga instructions ng mga antigen test kits (Each self-administered test kit has its own method. How to use it can be seen on the product label so we need to make sure that the

The government-run Zamboanga City Medical Center (ZCMC) announced Friday that its obstetric and gynecology (OB-Gyne) department will temporarily stop admitting pregnant mothers in their second to fourth pregnancy for normal delivery. The ZCMC, through its Public Affairs and Customer Care Unit (PACCU), said in a statement that the decision was reached due to the current surge of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases in the city. “We will only accommodate those with complications or those in their first and fifth pregnancy and above,” the ZCMC said. The ZCMC said there are 249 patients admitted to the Covid-19 wards and emergency

The government’s easing of restrictions for international travelers will help sustain the country’s economic growth amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship and Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion said on Friday. “This will definitely help the economy and sustain the growth we experienced in the fourth quarter of 2021,” Concepcion said in a statement. Under Resolution No. 159, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) lifted the facility-based quarantine for passengers entering the Philippines and now allows self-monitoring for any Covid-19 symptoms for seven days and report to the local government

Amid the prevailing coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) has released over PHP2.2 billion in medical assistance to a total of 272,390 patient requests across the country in 2021. Based on the agency’s 2021 accomplishment report released on Friday, it has released a total of PHP1.3 billion in funds for confinement cases of 134,033 patients; PHP628.8 million for dialysis injection cases of 107,891 patients; PHP236 million for the chemotherapy of 25,693 patients, and PHP18.3 million for hemodialysis of 2,397 patients. Some 293 hemophilia patients, meanwhile got PHP2.6 million in assistance while 2,083 post-transplant patients received