Every week, Remote Workmate thoroughly searches the internet for major Philippine stories. Here are some of the top headlines from this second week of January 2021.
Hong Kong detects new COVID-19 variant in passenger from Manila
In a virtual press briefing on Tuesday, January 5, Hong Kong health officials said they detected 4 cases of the U.K. variant of COVID-19 in their country. Among the cases is a 30-year-old female HK resident, who returned from Manila on December 22.
Thousands of Chinese nationals received COVID-19 vaccine in Philippines — civic leader
Some 100,000 Chinese nationals living and working in the Philippines have already been vaccinated against COVID-19 despite the absence of approval from local regulators, said civic leader Teresita Ang See.
Ang See, a Chinese-Filipino, said the vaccinations started as early as November last year but she had no idea how the Chinese-developed vaccine was brought into the Philippines.
Philippine Red Cross in talks with Pfizer, AstraZeneca to procure COVID-19 vaccines
The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) on Tuesday said it is in talks with pharmaceutical giants Pfizer and AstraZeneca to procure COVID-19 vaccines that would be sold to Filipinos on a “buy 1, donate 1” scheme.
The Philippine Red Cross has written a letter to the 2 pharmaceutical giants to procure some 1 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, PRC chair Sen. Richard Gordon told reporters in an online press conference.
BSP sees benign PH inflation for foreseeable future
The pace of price increases for basic goods and services in the Philippines will likely remain within forecasts over the foreseeable future, as confirmed by the latest data, according to the central bank.
In a statement, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno said the December 2020 inflation of 3.5% was within the monetary regulator’s forecast range of 2.9 to 3.7%.
PH adds six more countries in travel ban list over COVID-19 variant fears
The Philippines is temporarily prohibiting the entry of travelers from six more countries which have confirmed cases of the new coronavirus variant discovered in the United Kingdom.
President Rodrigo Duterte approved the recommendation of the Departments of Health and Foreign Affairs to expand the ban on inbound travel to include:
- Portugal
- India
- Finland
- Norway
- Jordan
- Brazil
Nazarene feast may turn into ‘superspreader’ if…
Despite warnings to devotees by health authorities to steer clear of Quiapo Church in Manila on the Feast of the Black Nazarene this Saturday to avert a widespread transmission of the new coronavirus, church officials are worried that many will still show up for the Philippines’ largest religious event.
The Healthcare Professionals Alliance Against COVID-19 said devotees flocking to the church could turn the event into a “superspreader,” where a single infected person infects many others on contact, leading to unusually large clusters of cases.
