Tag: covid

WHO warns of ‘long term’ Covid impact on mental health

ATHENS, Greece (AFP) — The mental health impact of the pandemic will be “long-term and far-reaching”, the World Health Organization said Thursday, as experts and leaders called for action on Covid-linked anxiety and stress. “Everyone is affected in one way or another,” the WHO said in a statement at the start of a two-day meeting in Athens with health ministers from dozens of countries. It said “anxieties around virus transmission, the psychological impact of lockdowns […]

Merkel worried by Germany’s ‘exponential’ virus growth

  BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday she was concerned about Germany’s rising Covid-19 infections, urging Germans to get vaccinated. “The infection figures are rising again and with a clear and worrying dynamic,” Merkel told a press conference in Berlin. “We are seeing exponential growth,” she said, adding that “every vaccination… is a small step towards a return to normality”. Germany has seen low infection numbers over the summer compared to […]

562,770 Pfizer doses, 1.5M Sinovac doses arrive in PHL; total COVID jab doses now at nearly 30M

  (Eagle News) – The Philippines received over half a million Pfizer doses and another 1.5 million Sinovac doses as of Thursday, July 22, bringing to nearly 30 million doses the total COVID-19 vaccines delivered to the country since February. The 562,770 doses of government-procured Pfizer-BioNTech anti-COVID vaccines arrived in the Philippines on Wednesday night, July 21, via DHL Flight LD457. This was part of the 40 million Pfizer doses which the national government secured […]

Davao City Vice-Mayor “Baste” Duterte positive for COVID-19

  (Eagle News) — Davao City vice-mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte has tested positive for COVID-19, prompting the Duterte family to do their regular “kumustahan” (greetings) via video call. Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, in her Facebook post, revealed that her brother, Vice-Mayor Baste, the youngest of the Duterte siblings, had tested positive for COVID-19, and wished him well. “Sa ngayon, via video call muna ang family kumustahan nang malaman naming positive sa Covid-19 si Vice […]

WATCH: Interview with Marikina Mayor Teodoro on importance of contact tracing, granular lockdowns amid Delta variant entry

(Eagle News) — Balitalakayan interviews Marikina Mayor Marcelino “Marcy” Teodoro who explains the importance of intensified contact tracing, granular lockdowns and vaccination of the population amid the entry of the highly infectious and dangerous Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus. Mayor Teodoro also notes the importance of intensified biosurveillance in local governments, where clustering of cases are monitored and the samples submitted to the Philippine Genome Center (PGC) which would analyze and detect the presence […]

India’s Covid deaths 10 times higher than reported: study

  by Glenda KWEK Agence France Presse NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — India’s coronavirus death toll is up to 10 times higher than the nearly 415,000 fatalities reported by authorities, likely making it the country’s worst humanitarian disaster since independence, a US research group said Tuesday. The Center for Global Development study’s estimate is the highest yet for the carnage in the South Asian nation of 1.3 billion people, which is emerging from a devastating […]

Indonesians gather to pray for Eid al-Adha despite virus surge

  JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesians prayed outside mosques and slaughtered goats to commemorate a sombre Eid al-Adha festival on Tuesday despite efforts to stop mass gatherings as coronavirus deaths skyrocket. This week marks the second time during the pandemic that the world’s biggest Muslim-majority nation has celebrated the Feast of Sacrifice, which signals the end of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. Authorities have banned large crowds, including at traditional events that feature the sacrifice […]

Over 15 million Filipinos already vaccinated, with 4.7 million completing 2 doses

More than 10.3 million already received first COVID-19 vaccine doses   (Eagle News) – The Philippines has already vaccinated more than 15 million Filipinos as the total vaccines delivered in the country reached more than 27.9 million doses. Philippine vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez reported to President Rodrigo Duterte on July 19, that there were around 15.1 million total vaccine doses that had already been administered. Of this number, more than 10.3 million (or 10,388,188) […]

Indonesia reports record number of COVID deaths at over 1,300 in 24 hours

Indonesia overtaking India as Asia’s COVID-19 epicenter   Skyrocketing Covid-19 infections and deaths are hammering hospitals in Indonesia which is overtaking India as Asia’s coronavirus epicentre. Desperate patients lining up at hospitals for days before getting proper treatment, as the government has advised infected people with mild symptomps to self quarantine. Many, however, ended up dying at homes. Workers from local community health centers and volunteers have taken the job to go house to house […]

Pres. Duterte directs PNP, DILG to be stricter in implementing health protocols to prevent Delta variant surge

Says entry of more aggressive Delta variant should be a “cause for serious alarm” for the public   (Eagle News) – President Rodrigo Duterte directed the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to be stricter in ensuring that minimum health protocols are followed by the public to “fight the threat of the Delta variant.” Duterte also raised the possibility of imposing more restrictions,  including restrictions on gatherings and […]

WATCH: Interview with pediatrician Dr. Richard Mata, on Delta variant as a “game changer” for COVID among kids

  (Eagle News) — Balitalakayan interviews pediatrician Dr. Richard Tesoro Mata who explained how the highly infectious Delta variant could become a “game changer” regarding COVID infection among children. Dr. Mata, who is also an online health information advocate, said that while children’s immune system is healthier and there is less likelihood for serious COVID-19 cases among kids, they can still serve as virus carriers. As carriers, children can be more asymptomatic, or have mild […]

DOH: 1 of 11 local Delta cases was fully vaccinated, while rest were not including a 14-year old

  (Eagle News) – The Department of Health confirmed that at least one of the 11 local cases of the Delta variant has been fully vaccinated, while two were aged 18 and below. Health Director Alethea de Guzman of the DOH Epidemiology Bureau said that one of the 11 local Delta variant cases had already been fully vaccinated, while the rest either did not yet get jab or did not get the full two doses. […]