Quezon City, PAGCOR give relief packs to jeepney drivers

MANILA, Philippines — The Quezon City government and Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) distributed yesterday relief goods to around 1,600 jeepney drivers and operators affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Mayor Joy Belmonte and PAGCOR vice president for corporate social responsibility Jimmy Bondoc led the distribution at city hall.

They were joined by Amarillo Costa, country manager of gaming brand FBM Technology Solutions, which teamed up with PAGCOR for the initiative.

The relief distribution for Quezon City drivers and operators was the third leg of the project, which started on Sept. 29.

The PAGCOR previously distributed relief goods containing food, face masks and alcohol to jeepney drivers in Parañaque and Pasay City.

Belmonte also received 5,000 face shields from the Manila Executive Lions Club District 301-A4.

The face shields will be given to medical frontliners in Quezon City.

Belmonte has expressed gratitude to private groups that have partnered with the city government to strengthen response efforts against the pandemic.

COVID-19 transmission slows down

Meanwhile, the transmission of COVID-19 infection in Quezon City has further decreased this week.

A report from OCTA Research group showed that the city’s transmission rate went down from 0.79 last week to 0.67 this week.

This is lower than the virus transmission rate for Metro Manila (0.71) and the entire Philippines (0.8).

The positivity rate or the number of people testing positive for the virus also went down from 11 percent last week to 10 percent this week.

The average number of daily cases of COVID-19 recorded by the city’s Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit also decreased to 41 last Sept. 16 to 22, from 122 the previous week.

“Quezon City is doing good. It should continue implementing health protocols such as wearing of face masks and social distancing. Testing and contact tracing should be intensified,” OCTA Research group member Ranjit Rye said.

Belmonte welcomed the report. She thanked the residents and local officials for cooperating in the COVID-19 response efforts.