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AS DEATH TOLL NEARS 500, MORE CHINESE CITIES SHUT DOWN MILLIONS more people have been ordered to stay indoors as China battles to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus (nCoV) that authorities said Wednesday has already killed nearly 500 people. With more than 24,000 cases in China, a growing number of cities have been imposing a range of restrictions in recent days far from central Hubei province, the epicenter of the outbreak, as authorities struggle to contain the virus. Global concerns have risen as more
countries found cases that were not imported from China and 10 people―including a Filipino seaman--tested positive for the virus on a ship quarantined off the coast of Japan. Some 56 million people in Hubei have been under virtual lockdown since last week, with its capital Wuhan at the heart of the health emergency. In Hangzhou, some 175 kilometers southwest of Shanghai, green fences
PH records rd 3 case of coronavirus Next page
VOL. XXXIII • NO. 357 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2020 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
• Patient arrived in Cebu on Jan. 20 • Pinoy onboard cruise ship infected
By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Rey E. Requejo
A
60-YEAR-OLD Chinese woman, who was among the patients being monitored by the Department of Health, was declared the third confirmed case of the novel coronavirus (nCoV) in the Philippines, Health Undersecretary Eric Domingo said Wednesday. In a press conference, Domingo said the third nCoV patient, who is from Wuhan, China, arrived in Cebu via Hong Kong on Jan. 20. She then traveled to Bohol. Results from one set of tests turned out negative and she was discharged and sent back to China, Domingo said, but another test showed she was a carrier after all. In Japan, authorities said 10 people, including a Filipino sailor, on board a cruise ship were tested positive for nCoV.
Japan Health Minister Katsunobu Kato told reporters in Tokyo that only the Filipino patient had severe symptoms. The Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila confirmed that a Filipino seaman has been infected with NCoV virus aboard the Diamond Princess cruise liner in Japan. Health officials said that while the infected patients were transferred to Next page
CONGRESSMEN CONFOUNDED. Members of a House of Representatives committee were thrown into a tizzy Wednesday when Health Secretary Francisco Duque III (above) failed to attend the panel’s hearing and was in Nueva Ecija to inspect a possible quarantine facility for nCoV patients. Elsewhere, on the update of nCoV, a member (left) from the Quezon City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit shows how to wear protective suits during a gathering at the Quezon Memorial Circle. Manny Palmero
Ecija quarantine site for repatriates
ASF control measures stepped up amid losses TO PREVENT African swine fever from spreading across the country, the Agriculture department has boosted quarantine measures following an outbreak in Davao Occidental. ‘‘Elevated quarantine measures are being worked out by the Department of Agriculture and is advising regions to elevate quarantine measures,’’ Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said in a statement after President Rodri-
go Duterte presided over a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday night. The National Meat Inspection Service in the Caraga Region has heightened its alert level against the African swine fever following the entry of the disease recently in Davao. NMIS-13 Regional Technical Director Dario Bonifacio Canillas said they were now implementing strict inspections of the slaughterhouses in the region.
By MJ Blancaflor and Macon Ramos-Araneta
The Department of Agriculture in SOCCSKSARGEN has stepped up the monitoring of hog farms in South Cotabato due to the suspected entry of the African swine fever. John Pascual, DA-12 technical director for operations, said Wednesday surveillance teams had been dispatched to collect samples from animals in the area to determine possible infections. Next page
THE first batch of Filipino repatriates from the epicenter of the novel coronavirus (nCoV) outbreak in China are scheduled to arrive in the Philippines on Saturday, Malacañang said on Wednesday. Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the Filipinos will be arriving at the Clark Airport in Pampanga and transported to Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija to undergo the mandatory 14-day quarantine. He said Health Secretary Francisco
Duque III was instructed by President Rodrigo Duterte to go to the site to properly address the people affected. “The arrival of the initial batch of repatriated Filipinos will be on Saturday at the Clark Airport and transportation to Fort Magsaysay has already been prepared,” Panelo said in a statement a day after Duterte presided over a Cabinet meeting. About 42 Filipinos in Hubei province, mostly from the city of Wuhan, have expressed a desire to return home amid the nCoV outbreak, the Department of Foreign Affairs said. Next page
17 senators push Faeldon graft raps
Trump’s state of the union address draws cheers, jeers
By Macon Ramos-Araneta
HOUSE Speaker Nancy Pelosi ripped up her copy of Donald Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday, in a pointed political gesture after listening tight-lipped to the president tout his achievements to Congress. The tension between Trump and his Democratic nemesis was palpable from the outset, as Pelosi extended her hand for a handshake–and the president failed to return the favor. Seated in silence behind the president in the House of Representatives, Pelosi frowned, repeatedly shook her head and smiled disbelievingly until he finished speaking and Republicans erupted in applause–at which point she rose and very visibly tore up the papers in front of her. Asked afterwards by a reporter to give a reason for her gesture, Pelosi replied: “Because it was the courteous thing to do, considering the alternatives.” And in a follow-up tweet, the 79-year-old Pelosi said Democrats would “never stop extending the hand of friendship to get the job done.” Trump was impeached by the Democratic-controlled House six weeks ago, and the flashpoint with Pelosi comes one day before the US Senate is all but certain to vote to acquit him on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of justice. During the impeachment crisis, Trump, 73, has repeatedly
SEVENTEEN senators have signed a committee report recommending the filing of graft charges against dismissed Bureau of Corrections chief Nicanor Faeldon over the good conduct time allowance anomaly. The Senate committees on justice, constitutional amendments, blue ribbon and finance showed that Faeldon was liable for failing to follow the procedures and requirements of Department Order 953. DO 953 provides that no high-risk convicts can be released without the approval of the Justice secretary. However, during the Senate hearing on the controversial sale of the GCTA, Faeldon admitted that he did not seek the Justice secretary’s nod before signing the release order of heinous crime convicts, including former Calauan, Laguna, Mayor Antonio Sanchez. Next page
STUDY IN CONTRAST. US Vice President Mike Pence claps as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appears to rip a copy of President Donald Trump’s speech after he delivers the State of the Union Address at the Capitol in Washington, DC on Feb. 4 (Wednesday in Manila). AFP
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