Every week, we exhaustively search online for major Philippine news. Here are a few of the top headlines from this third week of January 2021.
PH secures deal for 30M doses of Covovax COVID-19 vaccine
The Philippines has signed an agreement with the Serum Institute of India for the supply of 30 million doses of the Covovax coronavirus vaccine.
Carlito Galvez, Jr., the government’s chief implementer of policy vs the coronavirus, signed the term sheet. The vaccines will be available starting the third quarter of 2021.
Parts of Visayas, Mindanao rainy due to tail-end of frontal system, ITCZ
The tail-end of a frontal system or shear line and the intertropical convergence zone brought heavy rain to some areas in the Visayas and Mindanao on Monday, January 11.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration also provided estimates for the number of tropical cyclones inside the country’s area of responsibility for the first half of 2021.
Oil companies to raise pump prices this week
The cost of petroleum products will again go up this week, with gasoline prices expected to rise by almost PHP 1.
“Diesel should increase by P0.30 to P0.35 per liter. Gasoline should increase by PHP 0.80 to PHP 0.90 per liter,” Unioil Petroleum Philippines Inc. said in an advisory over the past weekend.
DOH eyes travel ban vs United Arab Emirates after Pinoy infected with UK variant
The Department of Health on Thursday, January 14 said it will be recommending the inclusion of the United Arab Emirates in the Philippines’ travel ban list.
This after a Filipino traveler from Dubai tested positive for the new SARS-CoV-2 variant.
Philippine government bans foreign travelers from 5 more countries, including China
Foreigners from five more countries, including China, are now banned from entering the Philippines due to the new Covid-19 variants.
In his press briefing on January 12, 2021, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said aside from China, foreign nationals from Pakistan, Jamaica, Luxembourg and Oman are also included in the ban.
The travel ban took effect on Wednesday, January 13, 2021, and ended on Friday, January 15.
PH secures 17M doses of AstraZeneca vaccine
The Philippines has procured a total of 17 million doses of United Kingdom-based AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, through tripartite agreements involving the private sector and local government units (LGUs).
This includes the 2.6 million doses purchased by over 30 companies and donated to the government in November 2020. For the second batch, about 300 companies and 39 LGUs from across the country pitched in for the purchase of around 14.4 million doses.
