WHO: Rising cases of COVID in many regions worrisome

MANILA, Philippines  — The World Health Organization (WHO) yesterday described as a “worrying phenomena” the increasing cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in many regions of the Philippines.

At a press briefing, WHO Philippine Representative Rabindra Abeyasinghe said they are seeing a “concentration” of cases in many regions and oftentimes, this has been “influenced by people traveling from infected areas where there is an active transmission” of COVID-19.

He cited the National Capital Region (NCR), which is the epicenter of the pandemic in the country, and Central Visayas, particularly Cebu City now under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) due to rising cases.

“Worryingly, we are seeing increasing evidence of a large number of cases being reported from Region 4A, Region 3, Region 12 and Region 8 and maybe a few other regions. This is a worrying phenomena,” he noted.

Earlier, the Department of Health (DOH) described Cebu City and Cebu province in Region 7; Ormoc City, Southern Leyte, Leyte and Samar in Region 8 as “emerging hotspots for the virus.”

Other areas are Lanao del Norte, Bukidnon, Misamis Occidental in Region 10; Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur and Davao Oriental in Region 11; South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat in Region 12 and Maguindanao in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

DOH data show as of July 2, NCR had 19,005 cases of COVID-19 while Central Visayas or Region 7 had 8,096; Region 8 or Eastern Visayas had 367; Region 10 or Northern Mindanao has 131, and Region 12 or SOCCSKSARGEN has 64 cases.

Abeyasinghe added the emergence of cases in these areas was driven by the “return of locally stranded individuals and repatriates coming from other countries.”

“The Philippines has pro-actively worked to bring back its citizens in large numbers who are working overseas… where they have lost employment because of COVID-19,” he said.

He maintained that “bringing these people back should require quarantining them, testing them and managing them so that they will not introduce new infections into the country and in their home provinces.”

“These particular challenges had also in, some respect, contributed to the large number of cases we are seeing in the Philippines,” he added.

The DOH yesterday documented a total of 1,531 new cases of coronavirus disease, the highest ever on a single day.

This is a big jump from the 294 new cases recorded on July 2 but the DOH said this is only because they shifted to a new “data extraction system to allow more time for the analyzation of data.”

Based on the DOH’s Case Bulletin for COVID-19, the new cases brought the total number to 40,336.

Of the 1,531 new cases, 413 came from Metro Manila while 301 were from Central Visayas.

Meanwhile, the  Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Qatar has been placed on lockdown after more than 100 individuals there tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said yesterday.

According to Bello, the infected individuals were either staying or working in the POLO facility, prompting them to “temporarily shut down” the office.

“We are on lockdown in Qatar. It is closed because 12 of our 15 employees got infected. In our Bahay Kalinga in Qatar, 92 of our wards were also infected by the virus,” he noted.

Bello added because of this, POLO personnel are now working from home.

Accept LSIs

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has urged local government units (LGUs) to accept returning stranded individuals to their home provinces amid the pandemic.

DILG spokesman Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said LGUs should accept locally stranded individuals (LSIs) as well as overseas Filipino workers returning to their localities from Metro Manila and other areas.

“We are reiterating the call to LGUs and the President’s appeal to them that locally stranded individuals have a right to return home,” he said in Filipino at a Laging Handa press briefing.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana earlier admitted that some LGUs have been reluctant to receive LSIs since they have been blamed for the surge of COVID-19 cases in the provinces.

Hundreds and possibly thousands of LSIs have been left stranded since the lockdown due to the pandemic, with some resorting to camping outside the airport and the pier for a chance to get back home.

Some regions and provinces have already suspended local repatriation in their areas due to the rising number of cases and limited healthcare and quarantine facilities.

Local repatriation has been suspended for two weeks in Negros Occidental, Iloilo and Eastern Visayas.

The government held a grand send-off ceremony for returning LSIs to Mindanao yesterday and will hold another one for Luzon on Sunday.

Around 4,000 LSIs are expected to be returned to their provinces during these two days, utilizing 100 buses, one Philippine Air Force aircraft, three government and commercial ships and one train.

Green lane

The Philippines has set up a “green lane” to facilitate the speedy and safe travel of seafarers, including swift disembarkation and crew change, during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., Labor Secretary Bello, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, Department of the Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Bernardo Florece, Department of Justice Assistant Secretary Nicholas Felix Ty and Department of Health-Bureau of Quarantine representative Edgar Maala signed the Philippine Green Lane Joint Circular on Thursday.

The green lane was created to “ensure that seafarers are accorded speedy and safe travel, subject to health protocols mandated by the Philippine government, including safe and swift disembarkation and crew change during the COVID-19 pandemic,” the DFA said in a statement. Romina Cabrera, Helen Flores