Local Roundup: Indemnity package out soon

The indemnification package for persons who will have adverse effects from COVID-19 vaccination will be released soon, an official of state-run Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) said on Friday.

“Maybe we will be able to release it within a month or (earlier),”  PhilHealth vice president Shirley Domingo said during the Laging Handa briefing.

Domingo said the indemnification guidelines had the approval of the PhilHealth Board.   

However,  the funding requirement is still being finalized.

The COVID-19 Vaccination Program Act established a trust fund worth P500 million to compensate an inoculated individual in case of death, permanent disability, or hospital confinement due to severe adverse events.

 More than 1.7 million Filipinos have already received the vaccine since the country launched its mass immunization campaign in March, according to government data.

Revised travel protocols

The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases has approved a  recommendation to test inbound travelers a week after their arrival in the country, the Department of Health said  on Friday.

The Philippines initially tested Filipinos and foreigners who enter the country 5 or 6 days after their arrival, said spokesperson and Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.

"This is a process to ensure that even though travelers, especially Filipinos, arrive in our country, we can still isolate them properly to break the chain of transmission,” Vergeire said in an online press conference.

Vergeire said  testing policy was adjusted after experts found that the viral load is still high until the 7th or 8th day.

Horse-racing, P2P travel okayed

Meanwhile, horse-racing activities in areas under a modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) will be allowed but under a no-audience setup, Malacañang said.

“In addition, only online and TeleBet activities in NCR Plus [areas] may operate. Off-tracking betting stations, on the other hand, may resume operations during general community quarantine or modified GCQ,” added Roque.

He also said that the IATF approved the guidelines on point-to-point air travel for leisure purposes from NCR Plus areas (Metro Manila, Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna, and Cavite).

“You can now visit the tourist spots but it will be point-to-point,” he said.

Zamboanga City under MECQ

Zamboanga City has been placed under the more restrictive modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ), while Tacloban City has been put under the least restrictive modified general community quarantine (MGCQ), Malacañang said.

This, after the IATF-EID approved the appeals of the local governments of Zamboanga and Tacloban cities to modify the quarantine classification within their respective localities.

The new quarantine status in the two cities is effective “immediately,” Roque said in a press statement.

Recoveries breach 1 million

The Philippines logged on Friday 7,733 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 1,087,885, as recoveries breached the one-million mark, the Department of Health reported.

The DOH reported that there were 4,227 newly-recovered patients, bringing the total recoveries to 1,087,885, which is 92.2 percent of the total cases.

Some 108 new fatalities were reported, bringing the death toll to 18,099, which is 1.66 percent of the total cases.