Covering CoViD-19 Archives | Page 2 of 7

Covering the CoViD-19 Pandemic

Rappler reports strong consensus to counter DOH claims; sounds the alarm on country’s health care capacity

CHEERS TO Rappler for detailing the dire state of the healthcare system. The report directly countered the DOH claim that the “health care utilization rate” or the capacity of the hospitals and other health centers to cater to COVID-19 patients has “improved.” It zeroes in on DOH’s lack of...

Media call out government’s all brawn enforcement of ECQ protocols

CHEERS TO the media for keeping in the public eye the aggressive implementation of the recent enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) with reference to human rights and past quarantine abuses. Because of a record-breaking surge in Covid-19 cases, the government placed Metro Manila, Cavite, Laguna, Rizal and Bulacan under ECQ...

Tracking the vaccine roll-out

CHEERS TO News.ABS-CBN.com for creating an interactive vaccine tracker embedded in its reports on the vaccine roll-out.

Assessing the economic impact of the failure to control the pandemic

LAST MARCH 15, the Philippines made international headlines with the first anniversary of the world’s longest and most militarized lockdown. Most reports in Philippine media called attention to the spike in the numbers of cases in the past weeks which led to localized lockdowns.

Government incompetence responsible for delays in vaccine arrivals — media

CHEERS TO Inquirer and Rappler for not letting pass government’s excuse for the delay of the vaccine roll out which presidential spokesperson Harry Roque hyped as a fitting Valentine’s gift for Filipinos, scheduled as it was to arrive mid-February.

PH government’s slow vaccine rollout: Plainly inept or intentional?

SINCE THE pandemic hit the country in January 2020, the Philippines has moved through a chain of snafus and scandals: Filipinos suffered the longest-running lockdown, the highest number of cases in Southeast Asia for at least two months, and more recently, ended last in the line of ASEAN countries...

Roque’s publicity stunt diverts media attention from tourism issues

THE EIGHT months of strict lockdowns severely affected the country’s tourism sector with an estimated PHP190 billion in lost revenues. The restart is being done in phases. Only two major tourist destinations, Baguio City and Boracay Island, reopened to visitors in October, but with stringent requirements, including negative results...

Inquirer calls out gaps in COVID response as cases reach 300K

THE PHILIPPINES breached the 300,000 mark in confirmed COVID-19 cases on September 26, a most unwelcome development for a country that has imposed the longest lockdown in the world. The government’s heavily militarized quarantines have done little to stem transmission, as thousands of cases are still recorded daily. The...

Reduced physical distancing: Another flawed policy from the IATF

THE PROPOSAL to gradually reduce physical distancing in public transport served to demonstrate once again the flawed policy-making process that has marred the IATF’s response to the pandemic. In a statement last September 11, Transport Secretary Arthur Tugade announced that the current prescribed distance for physical distancing of one...

Call for timeout: What was accomplished?

THE MEDICAL community’s distress call to the government last August 1 was clear in its purpose: representatives of medical associations asked for a two-week timeout to allow them to review, refresh and renew their capacity to attend to the increasing demands of the COVID-19 crisis. The members of the...