twitter.com/ MlaStandard
S
facebook.com/ ManilaStandardPH
manilastandard.net
Missed your copy of Manila Standard? Call or text our Circulation Hotline at 0917-8848655 or email: circulation@manilastandard.net
‘Super spreader’ infects 51 QC pool party sends 31 more in isolation; Ilocos Norte town locks down By Rio N. Araja and Willie Casas
A
T least 51 people tested positive for COVID-19 after attending a “super spreader” pool party and drinking session in Novaliches, Quezon City, prompting Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte to order local officials to sanction residents who host large social gatherings that violate existing health protocols. VOL. XXXV • NO. 98 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P18 MONDAY, MAY 24, 2021 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
A report by the City Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance Unit said 610 residents of Barangay Nagkaisang Nayon were swabbed after the pool party, with 18 more still awaiting results. At least 31 people have already been admitted to several of the city's isolation facilities. “We will issue a ordinance violation receipt to anyone who [is] found violating our guidelines and our ordinances for getting together, drinking together or having a karaoke session,” she said. “We still need to be extra careful since there is still the threat of COVID-19.” Belmonte tasked the City Legal Department to investigate if there were any possible lapses on the part of barangay officials. The legal department issued a showcause order to the village chief. "We will investigate the local officials for possible administrative neglect or misconduct," legal officer Orlando Paolo Casimiro said. The community has been placed under lockdown since May 14. Belmonte also urged the public to document violations of public health standards by taking photos and videos whenever possible and to report these incidents to the city's Hotline 122. The Philippines logged 3,083 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, bringing the
ANOTHER SUPER SPREADER? Cyclists gather at a portion of Roxas Boulevard in Manila on Sunday, May 23, 2021. While biking is a good form of exercise, authorities warn that mass gathering bicycle enthusiastns should be avoided or it could lead to a COVID 'super spreader' event, jeopardizing the rollout of vaccines. Norman Cruz
Next page
‘Naval FOBs can prevent China forays
FREEZING COLD. Baguio City, the country's summer capital, has expressed readiness for the arrival of vaccines like Pfizer doses that require ultra-cold conditions for their storage. City Mayor Benjamin Magalong says that the City Health Services Office has subjected the freezers to minus 70-degrees Celsius storage capability to another test run Tuesday to ensure that they work properly. The city expects to receive 35,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine. Dave Leprozo
ANAKALUSUGAN party-list Rep. Michael Defensor on Sunday welcomed the availability of ivermectin tablets in the retail outlets of Watsons Personal Care Store (Philippines) Inc. Defensor said Mercury Drug Corp., in a separate advisory, said ivermectin as a prescription drug “will soon be available at all stores nationwide.” “We applaud Watsons for improving public access to ivermectin, which has a fervent following not only in the Philippines but also across the globe,” he said. The Food and Drug Administration earlier issued a certificate of product
• Task force crows about rollout gains • Vaccines to be used up before expiry
By Rio N. Araja and Rey E. Requejo
By Rio N. Araja and Willie Casas
THE chairman of the House committee on strategic intelligence on Sunday called for the establishment of naval forward operating bases in the Philippine Sea, as former Supreme Court justice Antonio Carpio warned of China's “creeping expansion” in the region. “We want the Philippine Navy positioned to prevent China from asserting administrative control over any reefs, rocks or lagoons within our 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone,''
THE Philippines has administered more than 4 million COVID-19 vaccine doses, and is averaging 162,513 jabs daily, the National Task Force (NTF) against COVID-19 said Sunday. In a statement, the NTF said this ranks the Philippines second among the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries, 13th out of 47 countries in Asia, and 37th out of 196 countries worldwide. Of the total number, 3,147,486 were first doses while 969,939 were second doses of the vaccines against COVID-19. DOH: Jabs to be used before expiry date
Ivermectin now on retail—solon By Rio N. Araja
LOCAL ROUNDUP
registration to Lloyd Laboratories for the manufacture and sale ofivermectin, thus paving the way for its legal human consumption. But FDA director-general Eric Domingo said the CPR was on the use of “locally manufactured ivermectin as an antinematode (parasitic worm) drug.” Defensor said Watsons, in an advisory in its social media pages over the weekend, said ivermectin tablets may now be purchased at select stores with a doctor’s prescription.
Next page
COVID-19 PH
Next page
AT A GLANCE
(AS OF 4 PM MAY 23)
1,179,812 TOTAL NUMBER OF CASES
3,083 50,635 NEW
ACTIVE
19,951
38
1,109,226
6,756
DEATHS
RECOVERIES
NEW
NEW
Black fungus: Things to know SEVERAL thousand coronavirus patients in India have contracted a deadly and aggressive fungal infection, compounding the country's woes as it reels from the pandemic. What is the fungus? Mucormycosis, dubbed "black fungus," is caused by a mold found in soil and in decaying organic matter like rotting leaves, according to the US Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). People get mucormycosis, of which there are several types, by breathing in the fungal spores. They can be spread in hospitals and homes by air humidifiers or oxygen tanks containing dirty water. How dangerous is it? The infection needs to be caught early as it is aggressive and dead Next page
Next page
Pinoy designer gives Nova team a dressing-down By Nickie Wang DUBAI-BASED Filipino designer Michael Cinco trended on Twitter over the weekend for serving some “hot tea” to douse the insinuation of the team of Canadian beauty queen Nova Stevens that he was partly responsible for her loss in Next page
Canadian beauty Nova Stevens in a Michael Cinco gown
BUSWAY CONCOURSES . Transportation Secretary Art Tugade (right) and SM Prime President Jeffrey Lim lead the virtual groundbreaking ceremony of the EDSA Busway Concourses located at SM North Edsa, SM Megamall, and SM Mall of Asia. Commuters can look forward to a more comfortable, safe, and convenient travel experience with state-ofthe-art facilities, including a concierge, ticketing booths, and turnstiles for the Automatic Fare Collection System. The concourses, as shown in the background, will complement the DOTr’s innovative EDSA Busway project to provide safe and convenient access for commuters to the EDSA Busway Stations and for pedestrians crossing EDSA.