THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) said it collected P582.5 million in the 11 months to November worth of taxes and fees owed by establishments it ordered temporarily closed.
In a statement Tuesday, the BIR the collections were generated by 196 establishments and represented taxes and fees in arrears, BIR Deputy Commissioner Arnel S.D. Guballa said.
He added that 103 complaints involving P4.96 billion worth of taxes are currently in the preliminary investigation stage.
The program shutting down businesses that owe taxes and fees is known as Oplan Kandado (padlock), run by the Department of Finance.
In 2019, the program generated P1.92 billion from 743 establishments.
Tax collections hit P2.059 trillion in the first 10 months. Revenue generated by the BIR dropped 10.4% to P1.596 trillion while Customs fell 15% to P448.6 billion. — Luz Wendy T. Noble
JERUSALEM — An Israeli company has developed a drip irrigation system for growing rice to replace the flooded paddies that have supplied the world with rice for generations but cause a surprising level of damage to the environment.
Rice is the staple food for more than half the global population, but its cultivation uses 30-40% of the world’s freshwater and is responsible for 10% of man-made emissions of greenhouse gas methane, according to the UN-backed Sustainable Rice Platform.
Netafim, a company that pioneered drip irrigation decades ago to grow produce like potatoes and melons across Israel’s challenging arid landscape, has just finished a pilot scheme using its technology on 1,000 hectares (2,470 acres) of rice fields in locations from Europe to southern Asia.
At one such location, at La Fagiana farm in northeast Italy, two fields, side-by-side, grow a high quality rice for risotto. One is flooded, covered entirely by up to 15 cm of water to maintain temperatures and keep away weeds.
The other is criss-crossed with perforated pipes delivering to the roots precise amounts of water amounting to less than half the quantity used on the flooded field.
“We want to increase the production without increasing water use or lowering quality,” said Michele Conte, whose family has managed La Fagiana for decades and who has adopted the Netafim system on some of his land.
For three years the drip irrigation has yielded rice on par and at times even better quality than the flooded paddies, he said. It also allows them to rotate crops throughout the year.
Netafim said it had to learn from scratch how to achieve the same yield as flooding and it took a decade to create a new protocol for watering, fertilizing and planting rice with drip irrigation.
The growing conditions switch to aerobic from anaerobic, which means methane emission “goes to zero,” said CEO Gaby Miodownik.
Conte said the schedule for treating the rice still needs some fine tuning but that it has become a selling point for environmentally-concerned customers.
The initial investment in pipes, pumps and filters could be expensive for farmers whose profit margins are, for the most part, already thin.
But the shift away from flooding is expected to gain traction and companies like India’s Jan Irrigation are developing drip irrigation packages for rice as well.
Demand for rice is expected to rise 25% by 2050 and rice paddies leave too big a footprint, said Wyn Ellis, executive director at the Sustainable Rice Platform.
Drip irrigation was producing impressive results, doubling water productivity, and “getting more grain for every drop.”
Experts agree rice cultivation needs to become more sustainable.
“The sector needs a transformation,” Ellis said. — Reuters
After nine months of living in lockdown, Filipinos have experienced all kinds of hardships that have significantly impacted their lives.
The Philippine government’s imposition of a lockdown in mid-March led to severe economic repercussions as many businesses were forced to shut down, resulting in massive unemployment. Ultimately, the Philippine economy entered a technical recession in the second quarter, contracting by a record-low of 16.9%. On top of these, strong typhoons ravaged different parts of the country. All in, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts the Philippine economy to fall by an average of 8.3% this year.
Perhaps one bright spot is the string of quiet achievements undertaken by the private sector to mitigate the impact of the pandemic despite their business losses. Private companies extended unsolicited and collective assistance, which eased the pressure on the government. Conglomerates poured resources to build quarantine and healthcare facilities, manufacturers repurposed their factories to produce food or medical supplies, and private groups shared their time and resources to provide food and other needs for frontliners and other vulnerable groups. Now, the private sector is actively partaking in the acquisition of COVID-19 vaccines for Filipinos.
As manifested in their efforts in cushioning the socioeconomic impacts of this crisis, businesses proved that they can be strong drivers of economic recovery post-pandemic.
A Pulse Asia survey revealed that 85% of Filipinos agree that to recover from the COVID-19 crisis, the government should partner with private enterprises, especially in building and operating key development public utilities and social service projects such as healthcare systems, electricity, water, roads, and mass transport. The survey also found that the top issues that private investors can help address are job creation, expansion of livelihood opportunities, and poverty alleviation.
During the virtual Pilipinas Conference 2020 organized by the Stratbase ADR Institute last November, the speakers resonated with the same message. Ayala Corp. Chairman and CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala said that the investment-led component of the Philippines’ economic equation must be pushed to jumpstart the economy, create more jobs, and begin our recovery.
The second point emphasized in the conference is urgency to build up our digital infrastructure to support economic recovery.
Mr. Zobel, whose companies under the Ayala Group are involved in laying out the country’s digital infrastructures, elaborated that customers are more focused on keeping themselves safe and accessing services and products in completely different ways. The pandemic left everyone with no choice but to shift to digitalization, and, with this, “transformation just moved up to a whole other degree.”
Fortunately, local internet service has become faster now due in part to the government’s initiatives in cutting red tape, according to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC). But telcos Smart and Globe also deserve credit for aggressively accelerating their infrastructure spending to expand and upgrade services.
Recently, an Ookla report showing that internet speeds are now faster by 100% compared to past years. OpenSignal, an independent mobile analytics firm, also reported significant improvements in the experience of Philippine subscribers in its latest Mobile Network Experience Report. The report showed that the country’s average data download speeds have improved by 80.9% from 4.7 Mbps to 8.5 Mbps since 2018. It also showed that 4G availability is on the rise, with Globe Telecom’s coverage, for instance, increasing by 19.5 percentage points from 63.7% to 83.3% over the last 10 consecutive quarters.
All this has led to Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque even thanking the telcos for their efforts during a recent public briefing. This just demonstrates how responsive policy is good policy and that it stimulates investments and tangible improvements on the ground.
There is a strong need to uphold the whole-of-society approach with all sectors working together towards a common goal, which is “shared prosperity” for collective and sustainable recovery, as Mr. Zobel emphasized. For the whole system to jumpstart again, there must be collective action.
He also stressed the need to take care of the ecosystem around us if we want this ecosystem to succeed. “We cannot succeed if the rest cannot succeed as well,” Mr. Zobel concluded.
Rizalina Mantaring of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) said, “If the community around you suffers, you will not be sustainable.” Amb. Benedicto Yujuico, president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), emphasized the need for the bayanihan spirit in developing recovery strategies to heal as one.
Indeed, it is time for companies to embrace the concept of “stakeholder capitalism” over the orthodox “shareholder capitalism.” Enterprises must consider the interests of their stakeholders — from their suppliers to customers — in their long-term vision and plans, and not just the interests of their shareholders.
The government cannot bear the weight of this pandemic alone. With public resources strained by the pandemic and natural disasters, the support of the private sector is critical in re-energizing and sustaining the country’s economic recovery. Through collaboration between the government and the private sector, this crisis can be an opportunity towards change that is positive, inclusive, and sustainable.
One lesson from our recent challenges is the importance of collaboration for relief and recovery. Without the business community, the government might not have been able to address this predicament quickly. Indeed, uniting both the government and the private sector is crucial in countering the ongoing crisis and in paving the way for economic recovery and sustained growth.
Victor Andres “Dindo” C. Manhit is the President of the Stratbase ADR Institute.
SOUTHEAST ASIAN COUNTRIES have been particularly cautious in opening their borders to international travelers amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, and international tourism has collapsed as a result. The economic and social consequences have been severe. In Thailand, for example — where tourism contributed close to 18% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019 — the Tourism Authority of Thailand predicts just 6.7 million tourists in 2020 and 8 million in 2021. Similar figures abound in other countries.
To provide relief for the battered sector, Southeast Asian countries have tried to promote domestic tourism with support programs, travel deals, and marketing support until international tourists return. In May, for example, the government of Vietnam launched the “Vietnamese people travel in Vietnam” campaign, encouraging locals to explore their own country with discounted fares and increased domestic flights. Promoting domestic tourism builds on an existing trend. It has grown steadily in Southeast Asia over the past decade as the middle classes expanded and showed greater interest in leisure travel. In Vietnam, for example, domestic tourists reached 80 million in 2019, compared to 15 million foreign tourists in the same year.
What are some of the most promising pathways for domestic tourism?
REORIENTING SERVICES Many tourist businesses that traditionally focused on foreign travelers have had to reorient their offers to cater to the domestic market. This has often entailed investing in new products and services, targeting existing domestic segments, or discovering and even developing new ones. In Cambodia, for example, demand for adventure travel among the young population has sharply increased, amplified by social media. Similarly, in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, the “Lao Thiao Lao” campaign targets young Laotians and promotes nature-based sites for adventure. These investments can also become beneficial when international travelers return with changed habits and preferences post-COVID-19.
IDENTIFYING NEW NICHE MARKETS Another interesting group often neglected are expatriates. As a large population in many countries, with disposable income and interest in their host cultures, expatriates are a lucrative niche market. However, any offers and packages should meet their preferences, lifestyles, and values based on research. Rather than replicating domestic tourism packages, it might include elements such as exploring authentic street foods, spas, and wellness. For example, the Tourism Authority of Thailand actively targets its many expatriates with deals and discounts.
DEVELOPING TOURISM IN RURAL AREAS The pandemic has also accelerated demand for rural and nature-based tourism, as people seek to recover psychologically and physically from the pandemic, restrictions, and lockdowns. A recent ADB study found that domestic tourists in the Republic of Korea and Thailand discover less densely populated areas instead of cities. In many countries, rural tourism can be further developed especially around agritourism, gastronomy tourism, and wellness tourism. Rural tourism can also contribute to destination diversification strategies and holds substantial potential for poverty alleviation and to help protect natural resources and cultural heritage. Recognizing the significant opportunity for rural tourism, the Tourism Authority of Thailand recently launched rural tourism awards, with a large investment fund to support diverse local communities that preserve arts, culture, heritage, and cuisine.
SUPPORTING SMES AND STARTUPS As tourists will demand more small-scale and community-based destinations, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will become more significant in building longer term resilience and sustainability in tourism. Governments and authorities should support SMEs to survive in these difficult times and assist in this transition. Government interventions can include tax relief and cash transfers, which can become essential for SMEs to stay in business. This requires support for the digital transformation of their online business and domestic platforms that can become new sources for foreign revenues.
The pandemic brought forward great creativity in the travel and leisure sectors. Startup businesses have been booming in the region catering to the demand for people longing to travel. For example, in Thailand, cafés started offering an in-flight dining experience in an old aircraft for people who miss flying. Supporting these efforts could be crucial for boosting and revitalizing the domestic economy.
BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF DOMESTIC TOURISM Domestic tourism is often very under-investigated. The United Nations World Tourism Organization has reliable numbers on the volume of domestic tourism for less than a quarter of its member countries. To optimize the full potential of domestic tourism, more data and research is needed on domestic tourists’ behavior and preferences. While governments and academic research have focused on international tourists, multiple segments within domestic tourist markets need to be better understood. The pandemic provides an opportunity to better understand the differences between international and domestic tourists’ travel behavior, consumption habits, preferences, and activities.
It is time to use COVID-19 as a reset and seek a better balance between domestic and international tourism, so they complement each other and lead to a robust and sustainable tourism industry. For inbound tourism to be successful and sustainable in the long-run, domestic tourism needs to thrive as well. Domestic tourism helps to increase the respect for the environment, attract young people to work in the sector, and attract entrepreneurs and investors. While recognizing that domestic tourism cannot fill the gap from the absence of foreign currency earnings, it is crucial to explore the full potential of domestic tourism for economic livelihoods, while providing locals confidence in investing in the sector. Countries can also use this pause for improving infrastructure, such as airports, road systems, and tourism facilities, as well as implementing more sustainable features and measures. Historically, crises have shaken up existing institutions and prevailing structures. It is hoped this pandemic can lead to a more sustainable tourism sector, both internationally and domestically.
Matthias Helble is an Asian Development Bank (ADB) Economist, and Jaeyeon Choe is a Senior Lecturer at Bournemouth University.
Undeniably, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the lives of everyone. Yet, among those who have been affected to a much greater degree are contractual workers, who, during these uncertain times, earnestly hope for the regularization of their jobs. Amid the crisis, the issue of the security of one’s tenure becomes more relevant.
To recall, the 17th Congress passed Senate Bill No. 1826 which endeavored to end contractualization in May 2019 after President Rodrigo Duterte certified the bill as urgent. Senate Bill No. 1826 provides that there is labor-only contracting when either:
1. The contractor does not have substantial capital or investment OR the contractor’s employees recruited and placed are performing activities which are directly related to the main business operation of the principal; or,
2. The contractor does not exercise control over the performance of the work of the employee recruited and placed.
By amending the conjunction to “or,” the insufficiency of capitalization by a contractor and the employees’ performance of activities which are directly related to the main business of the principal each became sufficient for the contractor to be classified as engaged in labor-only contracting under the proposed law. Senate Bill No. 1826, however, was vetoed by President Rodrigo Duterte.
In his veto message, President Rodrigo Duterte declared that the proposed law, “unduly broadens the scope and definition of prohibited labor-only contracting, effectively proscribing forms of contractualization that are not particularly unfavorable to employees involved.”;
President Duterte’s vetoing of the much anticipated measure received criticism from workers and labor unions, yet said act was lauded by various groups of employers.
In view of the denial of Senate Bill No. 1826, various lawmakers refiled their respective versions seeking to finally put a stop to the abusive forms of contractualization. Hope seemed to reveal itself in the form of House Bill No. 7036, or the Security of Tenure Act.
On Dec. 1 this year, the House of Representatives approved in its third and final reading the House Bill No. 7036. The House Bill was supported by 204 lawmakers, while seven voted against it, and three abstained from voting.
Under House Bill No. 7036, labor-only contracting exists when the person supplying workers to an employer does not have substantial capital or investment in the form of tools, equipment, machinery, work premises, among others, OR has no control over the workers’ methods and means of accomplishing their work; OR the workers recruited and placed by such person are performing activities which are directly related and necessary to the principal business of such employer.
As such, the presence of any of the three indicators is sufficient for a contractor to be deemed to be engaged in labor-only contracting. Under the Labor Code, these contractors shall be treated as mere agents of the employer who shall be responsible to the workers as if the latter were directly employed by him. Moreover, employers are made jointly and severally liable with the contractor should the latter fail to pay the wages, allowances, and benefits of the employees.
Aside from the foregoing, House Bill No. 7036 seeks to prohibit fixed-term employments, except in cases of: (i) overseas Filipino workers; (ii) workers on probation; (iii) relievers who are temporary replacements of absent regular employees whose engagement shall not exceed six months; (iv) project employees; and, (v) seasonal employees.
The House Bill further introduced amendments in the Labor Code to expound on the employment and rights of reliever, project, and seasonal employees. Accordingly, reliever, project, and seasonal employees are given the right of first refusal to the task, work, or project which is the subject matter of their employment and as well as in the hiring for open regular positions.
Notably, the proposed law is categorical in stating that clauses in employment contracts providing for a fixed term or definite period of employment are void, and that workers under these arrangements are deemed regular employees reckoned from the first day of their employment.
Whether the said bill will be passed into law, and whether the same may adequately answer the clamor of employees and labor unions, while at the same time safeguard the rights of the employers to legitimate contractualization, still remain to be seen.
The law is fair and just to both labor and management. Hence, while the Philippine Constitution is inexorably committed towards the protection of the working class from exploitation and unfair treatment, it nevertheless mandates the policy of social justice so as to strike a balance between an avowed predilection for labor, on the one hand, and the maintenance of the legal rights of capital, the proverbial hen that lays the golden egg, on the other (Homeowners Savings and Loan Association, Inc. v. NLRC, G.R. No. 97067, Sept. 26, 1996).
We could only long and hope for that time when the government can finally find and strike the balance.
This article is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not offered as and does not constitute legal advice or legal opinion.
Shiela Vae A. Hoylar is an Associate of the Cebu Branch of the Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz Law Offices (ACCRALAW).
InterVenn BioSciences recently raised US$34 million for the commercialization of a minimally invasive blood test for the early detection of ovarian cancer. The San Francisco-based healthtech company innovating on early cancer detection was co-founded by Filipino Aldo Carrascoso (pictured). Image via InterVenn BioSciences
InterVenn Biosciences, a San Francisco-based healthtech company innovating on early cancer detection, was co-founded by Filipino Aldo Carrascoso, who previously founded digital media platform Jukin Media and blockchain payment system Veem.
InterVenn recently raised US$34 million in Series B funding, led by Anzu Partners and participated in by Genoa Ventures, Amplify Partners, True Ventures, Xeraya Capital, and the Ojjeh family (of McLaren Group fame).
This funding will go toward commercializing the company’s minimally invasive blood test for the early detection of ovarian cancer. The test is undergoing analytical and clinical validation through the InterVenn Ovarian CAncer Liquid (V.O.C.A.L.) trial. Initial results show a more than 90% accuracy rate.
“People always call me a serial entrepreneur because I started four companies in the past twenty years. I’m actually not a serial entrepreneur. I am a serial problem target. Problems keep finding me and I keep getting super frustrated. I just happen to find the best teammates to join me in solving very hard endeavors,” said Mr. Carrascoso.
InterVenn has one mission: to create a world where no one is blindsided by disease.
“Whenever I start a company, it’s always five to seven years before they become mainstream,” Mr. Carrascoso told BusinessWorld.
His track record bears this out: Jukin, founded in 2009, licensed viral videos before “influencers” invaded social media. Veem, meanwhile, was an early proponent of the bitcoin blockchain. “So I hope we are the first of many companies doing many wonderful things with this new science,” he said, referring to his healthtech venture.
DETECTING CANCER EARLY AND ACCURATELY There is no minimally invasive test at present that can accurately detect ovarian cancer in its early stages, when it is most curable.
InterVenn’s blood test could change that with next-generation glycobiology (or the study of the structure, biosynthesis, and biology of glycans or carbohydrates), instrumentation, and deep machine learning to change the way people diagnose cancer, all with the aim of furthering research towards curing it.
Early detection generally results in a better outlook. When diagnosed and treated in stage 1, the five-year relative survival rate is 92%—yet only about 15% of ovarian cancers are diagnosed in stage 1.
Most ovarian cancer cases now are diagnosed at stage 4, where the survival rate is less than 20%. Adding to the difficulty of the early diagnosis is that the disease’s most common signs and symptoms—bloating and back pain—could also indicate a myriad of other health conditions.
The clinical trial for InterVenn’s ovarian cancer–detecting blood test, which will be available early next year in the US, is ongoing with participants from the US, Australia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. The clinical validation of the V.O.C.A.L. biopsy is modeled after an early model built on a Caucasian population sample.
“Everyone thought I was crazy… because we’re different genetically,” Mr. Carrascoso said. “When we tested the Caucasian-framed algorithm on Filipinos and Malaysians, the performance increased. The conclusion is: we’re not all that different. We’re all just the same in the eyes of disease.”
‘THE TINDER OF DRUGS’ Immuno-oncology, or the study and development of treatments that take advantage of the body’s immune system to fight cancer, is next in the pipeline for InterVenn.
The biosciences company envisions a world where individuals can be triaged and routed to the right drug, where the right therapy selection tool has the ability to have a nearly 100% predictive value for people who are going to respond to certain drugs.
“We want to be the Tinder of drugs,” said Mr. Carrascoso. “We can match your phenotype to the right drug and technically direct you to the cure.”
This endeavor is a personal one for Mr. Carrascoso, whose mother died of breast cancer in the 1990s. Another close relative was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer in 2016; a cousin died from triple-negative breast cancer from the wrong immunotherapy regimen this year.
“When people ask me, what is InterVenn for you? It is not a business,” he said.
When Mr. Carrascoso had a related diagnostic test done at the laboratory of his co-founder and fellow Filipino Carlito Lebrilla, a Distinguished Professor at the University of California, Davis, and a fellow at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Mr. Carrascoso discovered it took 12 months and a roomful of people with PhDs to check one person’s blood sample.
With his experience in software and neural networks, Mr. Carrascoso created a technology for InterVenn that marries mass spectrometry, the only tool precise enough to measure the composition and location of post-translational modifications (or the alteration in the amino acid sequence of the protein after its synthesis), with artificial intelligence powered by large, human-curated datasets.
“Literally, this is a blue-sky opportunity,” said Mr. Carrascoso of the AI that scaled the workflow and data interpretation of mass spectrometry from 12 months to 12 minutes—a 10,000% increase in throughput.
With this technology, a blood test will be able to tell patients—early and accurately—if they will develop a certain type of cancer.
SAVING MILLIONS OF LIVES The same technology and science used for the ovarian cancer detection test was applied to nearly two other dozen indications—including renal cancer, liver cancer, pancreatic cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer, thyroid cancer, melanoma—with reportedly similarly promising detection results.
If the test lives up to its expectations, Mr. Carrascoso said that cancer may eventually become “like a headache.” That’s the dream.
InterVenn has teams in Silicon Valley, California, and Ortigas Center, Pasig, dedicated to its mission of creating a world where no one is blindsided by disease.
The Ortigas-based group is in charge of information technology-related tasks such as engineering, information security, development and operations, and server system administration.
“When someone tells you they’d rather work than sleep because they don’t want to add another moment of misery into another person’s life and family, you know you’ve got a really good team,” said Mr. Carrascoso
“I need this to be successful,” he continued. “I couldn’t help my mom. I wanted to become a doctor. But then someone told me, tumulong ka na lang ng duktor [why not just help doctors]. People need to know what InterVenn is doing because when we become successful, the amount of lives we are going to save will be in the millions of people. I don’t say that lightly.”
SINGAPORE will start a new travel lane for “business, official and high economic value travelers” that will allow people to come to the city-state without quarantine for short-term stays and reside in a dedicated “bubble” facility near the airport.
The segregated travel lane, announced by Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing on Tuesday, builds on Singapore’s efforts to reopen its borders in a controlled manner. The Southeast Asian nation, which has largely beaten back the coronavirus, announced Monday that it will progress to the third and final phase of its national COVID-19 response strategy on Dec. 28.
Singapore’s small and open economy is largely dependent upon the tourist and service sectors for growth. To that end, it’s been trying to reopen its borders by establishing green lanes and special travel arrangements with countries where the virus is also under control, like New Zealand and Australia.
Authorities are also keen to position Singapore as a prime spot for meetings, events, conferences and exhibitions and the new dedicated “bubble” faciliity near Changi Airport will be a big part of that. Earlier this month it was revealed that the World Economic Forum has held preliminary talks with officials in Singapore about relocating its high-profile Davos annual meeting to the city-state.
Applications for the segregated travel lane will open next month. People from all countries can apply but must adhere to the travel lane’s strict health and testing protocols.
For the duration of their up to 14-day stay, visitors will be housed in a “bubble” within a dedicated facility, undergo testing upon arrival and on days three, five, seven and 11, and must observe all prevailing safe management measures. They will be able to conduct meetings with local visitors and with other segregated travel lane groups at the facility, however if they’re meeting with locals, travelers will need to remain behind floor-to-ceiling dividers.
To that end, Singapore’s state investment firm Temasek Holdings Pte. on Tuesday outlined the short-stay facility that will support such safe business exchanges. Called Connect@Changi, the initiative also involves Ascott Ltd. and will be located at the Singapore EXPO, about a five-minute drive from the airport.
Connect@Changi will have more than 670 guestrooms and almost 170 meeting rooms that each can accommodate from four to 22 attendees. When fully constructed in mid-2021, the facility will include more than 1,300 guest rooms and about 340 meeting rooms.
“Guests can meet their local counterparts or other guests from the region safely in specially designed meeting rooms outfitted with air-tight glass panels, reducing the risk of transmission,” Temasek said in a statement Tuesday. “Entrances, exits and ventilation systems for both guests and Singapore-based visitors are separated” and there will be “a rigorous Covid-19 testing regime for guest travelers before and throughout their stay, as well as prior to departing the facility for their home countries.”
Meals will be delivered to pre-installed shelves outside guest rooms, and guests can also opt for additional food and beverage options via vending machines.
“As a living laboratory, Connect@Changi will feature an array of novel Covid management strategies, such as wastewater testing for early detection, latest rapid point-of-care tests to complement established lab-based polymerase chain reaction tests, and automated contact tracing within the facility to enable rapid and precise identification of individuals,” Temasek said. “If successful, these strategies can be deployed at existing facilities elsewhere, such as hotels, to strengthen and boost Singapore’s pandemic response.” — Bloomberg
NEW YORK — A New York City intensive care unit nurse on Monday became the first person in the United States to receive a coronavirus vaccine, saying she felt “healing is coming,” as the nation’s coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) death toll crossed a staggering 300,000 lives lost.
Sandra Lindsay, who has treated some of the sickest COVID-19 patients for months, was inoculated at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in the New York City borough of Queens, an early epicenter of the country’s coronavirus outbreak, receiving applause on a livestream with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
“It didn’t feel any different from taking any other vaccine,” Ms. Lindsay said. “I feel hopeful today, relieved. I feel like healing is coming. I hope this marks the beginning of the end of a very painful time in our history.”
“I want to instill public confidence that the vaccine is safe,” she added.
“This is what heroes look like,” Mr. Cuomo wrote in the caption of a photo of Ms. Lindsay, wearing a mask and staring resolutely ahead, that he posted on Twitter.
Similar scenes played out at select hospitals in other cities, including Los Angeles, where California Governor Gavin Newsom applauded as a Kaiser Permanente emergency room nurse rolled up her sleeve for a needle jab on live television.
“It’s been an incredible morning. It’s historic,” said Dr. Leonardo Seoane after he received a shot at Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans, where he led some of the clinical trials that found the vaccine 95% effective in preventing COVID-19 illness.
The made-for-TV events — the first US coronavirus immunizations outside of clinical trials — were part of a broad campaign by public health authorities and political leaders to reassure Americans of the vaccine’s safety as they launched a national immunization program of unprecedented scope.
Developed by Pfizer, Inc and German partner BioNTech SE, the vaccine, given as two doses three weeks apart, won US emergency-use authorization on Friday.
By day’s end on Monday, vaccine shipments had made it to nearly all of the 145 US distribution sites pre-selected to receive the initial batch of doses, with a number of major hospital systems launching immunizations immediately.
“This is a race against time,” said Greg Adams, chairman and CEO of the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc.
US officials said no major hiccups were reported. US Army General Gustave Perna said on a call with reporters that severe storms forecast this week could potentially hamper rounds of shipments to another 491 locations.
The vaccine’s arrival provided hope as the country passed 300,000 lives lost. Mounting COVID-19 hospitalizations — a record 109,000 patients reported on Monday alone – have strained healthcare systems to the breaking point, and more than 16 million US coronavirus cases have been recorded to date.
Over the past seven days, the United States has averaged 2,462 deaths a day, the highest since the pandemic started, according to a Reuters count.
LOGISTICAL CHALLENGE The process of shipping the first 2.9 million doses of vaccine began on Sunday, 11 months after the United States documented its first case of COVID-19.
The initial doses have been earmarked for healthcare professionals and nursing home residents, with essential workers, elderly people and individuals with chronic health conditions next in line.
As part of a national security protocol aimed at ensuring continuity of government in the event of an emergency, senior leaders in the executive branch, Congress and judiciary were also being offered early vaccines.
Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller got his on Monday at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center outside Washington, apparently the first Cabinet-level official inoculated.
It will take months before vaccines become widely available to the public at large, and health officials have warned Americans to remain diligent about social distancing and the wearing of face masks to curb virus transmissions.
The first US vaccine shipments departed Pfizer’s facility in Kalamazoo, Michigan, packed into trucks with dry-ice to maintain the cargo at its required sub-Arctic temperature. Driven to air fields in Lansing and Grand Rapids, the shipments were then flown by UPS and FedEx planes to cargo hubs in Louisville, Kentucky, and Memphis, Tennessee.
From there, they were trucked or flown to the first 145 vaccine-staging areas across the country. Second and third waves were due to go to 491 remaining sites on Tuesday and Wednesday. “This is the most difficult vaccine rollout in history,” US Surgeon General Jerome Adams told Fox News on Monday.
Governors in 26 states and territories were deploying National Guard troops to assist in the operation, the Guard said.
US top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci told MSNBC on Monday that Americans with no heightened risk factors could expect to get vaccinated by late March or early April. “Maybe by the end of late spring,” Mr. Fauci said, “so that by the time we get into the fall, we can start approaching some degree of relief.”
US Operation Warp Speed top adviser Moncef Slaoui said the plan is to have about 40 million vaccine doses — enough for 20 million people — distributed by year’s end.
That would include vaccines from both Pfizer and Moderna, Inc . An outside US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel is scheduled to review the Moderna vaccine on Thursday, with emergency use expected to be granted shortly thereafter. — Reuters
LANSING, MICH./WILMINGTON, Del. — President-elect Joe Biden delivered a forceful rebuke on Monday to President Donald Trump’s attacks on the legitimacy of his victory, hours after winning the state-by-state Electoral College vote that officially determines the US presidency.
“In this battle for the soul of America, democracy prevailed,” Mr. Biden said in a prime-time speech from his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware. “Now it’s time to turn the page, as we’ve done throughout our history — to unite, to heal.”
Monday’s vote, typically a formality, assumed outsized significance in light of Mr. Trump’s extraordinary effort to subvert the process due to what he has falsely alleged was widespread voter fraud in the Nov. 3 election.
California, the most-populous US state, put Mr. Biden over the 270 votes needed to win the Electoral College when its 55 electors unanimously cast ballots for him and his running mate, Kamala Harris. Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris — the first woman, first Black person and first Asian American to become vice president-elect — will be sworn in on Jan. 20.
In a roughly 13-minute speech, Mr. Biden, the Democrat, called for unity while voicing confidence that the country’s democratic institutions had held in the face of Mr. Trump’s attempts to reverse the election outcome.
“The flame of democracy was lit in this nation a long time ago,” Mr. Biden said. “We now know that not even a pandemic or an abuse of power can extinguish that flame.”
Mr. Biden emphasized that Mr. Trump and his allies filed “dozens and dozens” of legal challenges to the vote totals without success, including a Texas lawsuit that asked the US Supreme Court to invalidate four states’ results. The court, including three Trump appointees, rejected the bid with no dissents last week.
He also noted that his 306-232 margin in the Electoral College was the same as Mr. Trump’s 2016 victory, which the Republican described as a “landslide.”
Under a complicated system dating back to the 1780s, a candidate becomes US president not by winning the popular vote but through the Electoral College system, which allots electoral votes to the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on congressional representation.
In 2016, Mr. Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton despite losing the national popular vote by nearly 3 million ballots. Mr. Biden won the popular vote in November by more than 7 million votes.
Electors are typically party loyalists who are unlikely to break ranks, and few observers had expected Monday’s vote to alter the election’s outcome. With Trump’s legal challenges floundering, the president’s dim hopes of clinging to power rest in persuading Congress not to certify the Electoral College vote in a special Jan. 6 session – an effort all but certain to fail.
Trump had also pressured Republican lawmakers in battleground states that Biden won, such as Pennsylvania and Michigan, to set aside the vote totals and appoint their own competing slates of electors. But lawmakers largely dismissed the notion.
“I fought hard for President Trump. Nobody wanted him to win more than me,” Lee Chatfield, Republican speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives, said in a statement. “But I love our republic, too. I can’t fathom risking our norms, traditions and institutions to pass a resolution retroactively changing the electors for Trump.”
Some Trump supporters had called for protests on social media, and election officials had expressed concern about the potential for violence amid the president’s heated rhetoric. But Monday’s vote proceeded smoothly, with no major disruptions. — Reuters
The Christ the Redeemer statue is lit up with the names of the victims of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as it pays tribute to them in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil July 1, 2020. — REUTERS/PILAR OLIVARES
SAO PAULO — Brazil’s health regulator Anvisa said on Monday that China’s health authorities are not transparent in authorizing emergency use of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines, a statement that may further inflame political tension in the South American country.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a consistent critic of China, has repeatedly cast doubt on the CoronaVac vaccine being developed by China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd, saying its “origin” made it untrustworthy.
In Sao Paulo, Brazil’s most populous state, authorities have made a hard bet on the vaccine, with Governor Joao Doria, a Bolsonaro enemy, saying the state expected to start vaccinating its residents in January.
Sao Paulo will not be able to begin using the Sinovac vaccine until it is approved by Anvisa, however. While the health regulator has long been largely apolitical, Mr. Bolsonaro has been appointing allies to it in recent months, stoking fears among health professionals that its decisions may be affected by political considerations.
“Brazil is the international leader in the evaluation process for CoronaVac,” Anvisa said. “The vaccine has had an emergency use authorization in China since June of this year. The Chinese criteria for granting emergency use authorization are not transparent, and there is no available information about the criteria currently in use by Chinese authorities to make these decisions.”
At least tens of thousands of people have taken the Sinovac vaccine in China’s emergency use programme, officially launched in July, that targets limited groups of high-risk people.
Two candidates developed by units of state-backed Sinopharm are included in the programme.
China has not made public details of how it determines whether a novel coronavirus vaccine is qualified for emergency use. Its National Health Commission did not respond to a request for comment.
A Sinovac representative declined to comment but referred to a news conference in October at which a health official said the emergency inoculation was launched after stringent reviews and was in accordance with China’s laws and World Health Organization’s rules.
These vaccines showed “very good safety and immunogenicity readings in Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials”, the official said.
CoronaVac is undergoing Phase 3 testing in Sao Paulo.
Doria said earlier on Monday that efficacy data would be released on Dec. 23, eight days later than initially planned, to allow for a larger sample size and more complete analysis. — Reuters
A RECORD NUMBER of journalists were imprisoned during 2020, as governments cracked down on coverage of the coronavirus pandemic or tried to suppress reporting of civil unrest, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said on Tuesday.
At least 274 journalists were in jail as of Dec. 1, the most since the New York-based group began collecting data in the early 1990s, the report said, up from at least 250 last year.
Protests and political tensions were the cause of many arrests, with the most made in China, Turkey, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, it said.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, authoritarian leaders tried to control reporting by arresting journalists. At least two journalists died after contracting the disease in custody, the report said.
“It’s shocking and appalling that we are seeing a record number of journalists imprisoned in the midst of a global pandemic,” CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon said in a statement.
The report blamed a lack of global leadership on democratic values, and in particular attacks on the media by U.S. President Donald Trump, which it said gave cover to authoritarians to crack down on journalists in their own countries.
Globally, 34 journalists were jailed for “false news” in 2020, compared with 31 last year, it said.
“The record number of journalists imprisoned around the world is President Trump’s press freedom legacy,” Simon said.
While no journalists were in prison in the United States as of Dec. 1, 110 were arrested or charged in 2020, many while covering demonstrations against police violence, the CPJ said.
Countries where the number of jailed journalists rose significantly include Belarus, where the re-election of its long time president sparked mass protests, and Ethiopia, where political unrest has led to armed conflict.
The report found that two-thirds of journalists in jail were charged with anti-state crimes such as terrorism or membership of banned groups, while no charges were disclosed in nearly 20% of cases. — Reuters
A LIM Kim hoists the championship trophy after winning the US Women’s Open golf tournament at Champions Golf Club. — REUTERS
A LIM Kim wanted to have a good tournament experience in her first appearance in the US Women’s Open. She ended up with much more than that.
Kim notched birdies on the final three holes to surge to the lead and ultimately win the weather-interrupted championship Monday at Champions Golf Club’s Cypress Creek course in Houston.
“Because first experience it’s more about learning and observing, experiencing the whole tournament,” Kim said.
Kim, a 25-year-old South Korean, posted a final-round 4-under-par 67. She finished the tournament, which was extended to a fifth day, at 3-under 281 for a one-shot victory.
Overcoming a five-shot deficit to win Monday, Kim tied the largest final-round comeback in Open history, becoming the seventh player to do so. Annika Sorenstam was the last to do it in 1995.
Kim barely made it past Friday, when she made the cut on the number after closing with three straight birdies.
Amy Olson and South Korea’s Jin Young Ko were the runners-up after shooting 72 and 68, respectively.
Kim told herself to embrace the opportunity. She found the good aspects of the tournament venue and worked through any trouble spots to churn out the victory.
“The course itself is very much my type,” Kim said. “I’m in love with the course. Very great playing conditions and so forth.”
Kim played the frontside in 3 under, but bogeys on the 10th and 11th holes appeared to derail her bid for a title. Then she posted a birdie on the par-3 16th before doing the same on the last two holes — both par-4s.
Kim completed her round before several other groups finished, so she had to wait to make sure her lead stood. Olson was last to finish, notching a birdie on No. 18.
There was a tone of sadness surrounding the last round.
Olson’s father-in-law, Lee Olson, died on Saturday night. The golfer’s husband, Grant Olson, who’s the linebackers coach for North Dakota State’s football team, had been attending the tournament but departed prior to the last round.
Olson, who won an NCAA-record 20 tournaments as a collegiate golfer, has yet to win on the LPGA Tour.
Ko said it was a different type of tournament without galleries to provide motivation. Still, she made the most of the situation.
“If gallery is on the course, it’s going to be more fun, but it wasn’t,” Ko said.
Japan’s Hinako Shibuno (74) was in fourth place at 1 under. Megan Khang (72) was at 1 over in fifth place.
Shibuno, 22, led after the second and third rounds, holding a one-shot lead on Olson going to the final round. Shibuno, who won the 2019 British Open and was in her first US Women’s Open, had five bogeys with two birdies, including one on the last hole.
Twenty-four golfers had yet to complete a hole of the final round when play was suspended Sunday morning because of dangerous weather. By early afternoon, the decision to contest the remainder of the tournament to Monday was announced, with US Golf Association officials citing course conditions and the forecast for the remainder of the day.
So, it was a full round of play Monday for the contenders. A few golfers had made it one-third of the way through the last round Sunday before play was halted. Already, half of the golfers had been assigned to begin the final round on the 10th hole because of the weather concerns.
Defending champion Jeongeun Lee6 shot 71 to end up at 2 over and tied for sixth place with South Korea’s Imbee Park (68) and Thailand’s Moriya Jutanugarn (74).
Kaitlyn Papp was the best finisher among amateurs at 3 over, tying for ninth place. The University of Texas senior checked in with 74 for the final round.
Papp was among those tied for third place at the beginning of the round. Playing in her home state, she felt like a favorite even without crowds to cheer her on.
“I didn’t really feel pressure, but I definitely felt kind of a hometown crowd,” she said. “There’s a lot of Longhorns in the houses (lining the course), everyone is in their back yards watching, and I had my family out so I didn’t really feel pressure, I just kind of felt like home.”
Papp had studied the course and felt comfortable attacking the layout.
“I had a feeling it was going to play long,” she said. “I knew Houston has had a lot of rain recently and I came out about a month ago, so I knew hitting my long irons well and my driver well and lag putt really well was going to pay off this week.”
Papp was the third-highest U.S finisher overall behind Olson and Khang.
Jutanugarn and Korea’s Ji Yeong Kim2 joined Shibuno and Olson as the only golfers with under-par scores through three rounds. By midway through the final round, only Shibuno and Olson had under-par scores.
Only 18 of the 66 golfers who made the cut were from the United States.
John Bodenhamer, senior managing director of championships for the USGA, said pushing the completion of the tournament to Monday made sense because conditions would allow officials to “bring folks back to a golf course that would be reminiscent of the US Women’s Open.”
There were chilly temperatures for the final day compared to earlier in the tournament.
Already, the event had been rescheduled from June because of the coronavirus pandemic. Spectators, other than limited family, weren’t permitted to attend.
Still, finding a way to conduct the final major of the year was important to the USGA.
“We want to do everything we can this year to play this championship,” Mr. Bodenhamer said. — Reuters
