Philippines

METRO MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte continues to trust Health Secretary Francisco Duque III espite the new corruption allegations against him in connection with Philhealth, says presidential spokesman Harry Roque on Wednesday. Roque said that the Health Secretary will continue to work as the head of the Department of Health and chairman of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious …

METRO MANILA – Metro Manila mayors have agreed to a uniformed curfew from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m in Metro Manila as part of the stricter implementation of the general community quarantine (GCQ). According to presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, the majority of the mayors voted for the curfew hours from 8pm to 5am. Inaprubahan ng IATF-EID ang naging rekomendasyon ng …

METRO MANILA – The government has finally eased up on the much controversial motorcycle barrier requirement for riders living in the same house. According to the Joint Task Force COVID Shield on Tuesday that the National task force for Covid-19 has approved new and more relaxed guidelines in motorcycle backriding. However, areas under GCQ will still required riders not living …

METRO MANILA – Public transportation and domestic flights resume today after Metro Manila has been shifted to general community quarantine or GCQ status. According to the Department of Transportation (DOTr) Public trains and operators from various public utility vehicles such as taxis, buses, and modern and traditional public utility jeepneys (PUJs) and UV express will resume operations to ferry the …

METRO MANILA – Metro Manila and other nearby provinces has now been reverted back to a more relaxed general community quarantine (GCQ) from Aug. 19 to 31, two weeks after upgrading the status to Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) Metro Manila will be placed under general community quarantine (GCQ) from August 19 to August 31, 2020. The President also reverted …

METRO MANILA – A mutated strain of the coronavirus that is believed to be more infectious than the original SARS-CoV-2 has been discovered  in the Philippines. Philippine Genome Center reported the discovery of G614 strain a new mutation that has been reported to have become the dominant strain circulating worldwide. The original D614 genotype showed up in the cases collected …

METRO MANILA  – Nearly half of the country’s adult labor force was unemployed in July this year, a recent survey revealed by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) on Sunday. According to the survey conducted from July 3-6, 2020, unemployment in the country rises to  45.5% from  17.1% last December. a 28-point increase and a new record-high beating the 34.4% recorded …

METRO MANILA – A new mutated strain of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the Covid-19 disease has been detected and belived to be more infectious than the original variant, says Philippine Genome Center (PGC). According to the research center, the G614 strain, along with D614 genotype was reportedly detected on several sample positive cases in Quezon City. Philippine Genome Center …

MANILA – Malacañang announced today (Saturday) that areas under GCQ such as Nueva Ecija, Batangas, Quezon, Cebu City and Iloilo City will be extended until August 31. Mandaue, Lapu Lapu, Talisay, Minglanilla and Consolacion in Cebu will also be under GCQ until the end of the month. LOOK: Here are the quarantine classifications of different areas beginning August 16, 2020 …

MANILA – The World Bank has committed another $1.9 billion in projects in the Philippines to help and support projects that will help the economy bounce back from the impact of Covid-19 pandemic. According to the Department of Finance (DOF), the $1.9 billion-worth of “redesigned” World Bank-funded projects are expected to be approved before the year end to help the …