Laboratories told two clear testing backlogs by Thursday
THE Department of Health (DoH) has instructed all accredited coronavirus laboratories to finish the testing of all pending samples by Thursday, following instruction from the Office of the President.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario S. Vergeire said on Thursday there are 3,683 pending results from the more than 12,000 samples submitted from more than two weeks ago.
She said they met with the laboratories last Monday and instructed them to reduce backlogs in two to three days.
“Binigyan namin sila ng (We gave them) strategies on how to do it and yesterday we saw the progress already, nabawasan na tayo ng (we’ve reduced) almost 40% of the backlogs that we had last Monday,” she said in a virtual briefing.
Ms. Vergeire said they target to bring the backlogs to zero by Thursday.
She also noted that testing slowed down early this week due to problems in supplies, which has already been sourced out.
Three laboratories — the Bicol Medical Center, the UP-National Institutes for Health, and Lung Center of the Philippines — have also resumed testing Monday after a halt in operations.
The DoH targets a 30,000 daily testing capacity by the end of the month.
As of May 26, there were 42 accredited testing laboratories in the country.
Ms. Vergeire on May 25 said they have identified 17 more laboratories to be licensed in the next two weeks. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas
Bill filed for free COVID-19 mass testing program
A PROPOSED law that will establish a free mass testing program for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was filed in the House of Representatives.
“The current limited testing and prioritization done by the DOH (Department of Health), poses much greater threat of infection to the Filipino population. Doing the sorely needed mass testing entails vastly improving laboratory capacity to meet the demand while addressing the backlogs, and it requires urgent action,” reads part of the explanatory note of House Bill 848 filed by the Makabayan bloc on Thursday.
The bill, which if passed will be known as the Free Mass Testing Act of 2020, seeks free testing for all suspect cases, close contacts of probable and confirmed cases, high risk communities, health workers, and other vulnerable sectors and groups.
The measure provides for a free mass testing fund for this purpose, but no specific amount was indicated.
All workers and students will also be tested before returning to work or school, while all repatriated overseas workers and incoming foreign nationals will be screened by the Bureau of Quarantine.
The measure also directs the government to establish a mass testing plan, set up a testing facility in every region, and maintain a COVID-19 database that includes all tested individuals, case status, and testing backlogs.
The bill also wants the national task force to provide all members of Congress a report every Monday, indicating the number of tested individuals per category and per region, and budget utilization. — Genshen L. Espedido
Public school enrolment starts Monday
ENROLMENT for primary and secondary public schools will start June 1, with the government trying out a remote system.
Education Undersecretary Annalyn M. Sevilla said on Thursday that class advisers are tasked to contact their students last year for registration in the coming school year.
“From June 1 to June 30, eto ang gagawin namin na enrolment (This is what we will do for enrolment),” she said.
Incoming kindergarten and transfer students, however, will have to physically register, with schools ordered to set up distancing protocols to avoid potential coronavirus transmissions.
During the enrolment, a survey will also be conducted to gather information on whether students have the necessary gadgets and access to online learning.
Education officials said they agree with President Rodrigo R. Duterte that face-to-face classes pose a high risk to children while a vaccine for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has yet to be developed.
They, however, want to push through with the planned opening of classes by August 24.
The Department of Education is eyeing the use of government broadcast systems such as state-owned PTV channel as one of the teaching tools in a planned “blended learning” system. — Gillian M. Cortez
Over 600 more Filipinos arrive home amid pandemic
MORE than 600 overseas Filipinos from the United States, Cambodia and Germany arrived on Thursday amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic that has infected 5.7 million and killed more than 350,000 worldwide.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) received early Thursday morning 124 Filipinos who were stranded from the west coast of the United States. This was followed by 167 Filipinos from Cambodia.
“This was the second repatriation flight from Cambodia since the COVID-19 outbreak,” DFA said in a social media post.
Some 357 Filipino seafarers of AIDA Cruises from Hamburg, Germany also arrived on Tuesday.
Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Eduardo Martin R. Meñez said as of May 27, they have assisted 30,541 returning Filipinos since February.
Majority of these are seafarers at 20,138 while 10,403 are land-based workers.
Among Filipinos abroad, DFA said there were 2,664 confirmed cases as of May 27, including 1,400 who are still undergoing treatment. There are 334 deaths and 930 have recovered. — Charmaine A. Tadalan
Gov’t tracks illegal clinics treating foreigners suspected to have coronavirus
JUSTICE Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra said he will direct the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to locate illegal clinics in the country that treat foreigners for coronavirus infection.
“I will therefore ask the NBI and the BI to help the police in locating other similar underground clinics and the people running them, and if warranted, to file the appropriate charges against them,” he told reporters in a Viber message.
GMA News reported on May 26 that an unlicensed medical facility that treats Chinese patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was found in Makati City.
Last May 19, authorities also raided a villa at the Fontana Leisure Park in Clark Freeport that was turned into a makeshift medical facility for Chinese patients.
Two foreigners — Ling Hu, 45, the alleged owner; and Seung-Hyun Lee, the alleged pharmacist — were arrested at the Fontana raid, but released the same day without charges.
The BI on Thursday said the two have been placed under the alert list.
The four Chinese patients who underwent treatment at the illegal facility are also being located.
“Even if no criminal charges were filed against them, they can be charged for immigration law violations if we can establish that they violate the conditions of their stay in the country,” Bureau Chief Jaime H. Morente said.
The immigration chief also said that they are conducting a probe on the clandestine hospital in Makati.
BI Intelligence Chief Fortunato S. Manahan Jr. said they are also investigating if there is a connection between the two facilities. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas
American sentenced to life in jail for human trafficking
AN American has been convicted by a local court for human trafficking and sentenced to life in jail.
United States-based International Justice Mission, in a statement on Thursday, reported that David Timothy Deakin was found guilty of large-scale qualified trafficking in persons and was also slapped with a P2 million fine.
He was also ordered to pay each victim P500,000 in moral damages and P100,000 as exemplary damages.
The promulgation, done through video conferencing, was handed out by Judge Irineo P. Pangilinan, Jr. of the Angeles City Regional Trial Court.
Deakin was arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on April 20, 2017 in his rented house in Angeles City and was found in possession of files of child sexual exploitation material, sex toys, and illegal drug paraphernalia.
Janet Francisco, chief of the NBI-Anti Trafficking in Person Division, said they “are strongly pursuing those who abuse our children and exploit them through the internet.”
International Justice Mission National Director Samson Innocencio Jr. said the Philippine justice system should continue protecting children who “are unsafe during the lockdown.”
The Department of Justice said cases of online sexual exploitation of children increased by 264.63% year-on-year to 279,166 from March to May 2020 when the strict lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic was in place. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas
