COVID-19 SURGE | Philippines emerges as COVID-19 epicenter in Southeast Asia

COVID-19 SURGE | Philippines emerges as COVID-19 epicenter in Southeast Asia – public health advocate

September 17, 2021 , 09:58 PM

By Clarist Zablan

(September 17, 2021) – The Philippines has emerged as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epicenter in the Southeast Asian region, a public health advocate said on Friday as weekly infection cases exceeded its neighbors.

The number of infections in the Philippines has reached almost 150,000 in the past week, overtaking COVID-19 cases in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand where infections rose due to the virulent Delta variant, according to Dr. Anthony Leachon.

“It makes us difficult to control because of our archipelago setting. While Thailand and Malaysia are isolated countries, or one big country they can easily control their borders,” Leachon said.

The Department of Health (DOH) reported a total of 20,336 daily COVID-19 cases on Friday bringing the cumulative caseload to over 2.32 million.

A research team from the University of the Philippines (UP) expressed fears the Philippines’ aggregate cases might hit three million by mid-October, just a month and a half after the country saw its second million cases. In comparison, it took over a year before the nation recorded 1 million cases, then just another four months for the cases to jump to 2 million.

“Medyo mabilis kasi ang increase natin ngayon, so iyong ating milyon na pagbilang dati na months, posibleng weeks ngayon, yan ang aabangan natin sa mga susunod na araw if tuloy-tuloy yung increase,” the team’s spokesman Prof. Jomar Rabajante said.

He projected the daily new cases will peak at the end of September or on October 1 before declining afterwards, hoping the new lockdown guidelines in Metro Manila and further vaccination will ease the situation and free up capacity in hospitals.

Rabajante said the Inter‑Agency Task Force (IATF) should publish clearer guidelines on the updated quarantine protocols in the National Capital Region, so experts can better understand how alert levels are determined.

“Given this new system, kung tuloy-tuloy pa rin at mapapabilis ang vaccination posibleng hindi masyading tumaas yung hospitalization,” Rabajante said.

The government on Thursday started a pilot run of the updated protocols in the capital until the end of September, focusing more on implementing localized lockdowns in small areas that are seeing a surge in COVID-19 cases.

The business sector has lauded the move for jumpstarting economic recovery, but health experts have criticized the new guidelines as confusing and ultimately pointless in controlling the infection due to a lack of adequate contact tracing efforts.

The health department said it cannot yet release proper guidelines while the pilot run is still ongoing, adding it will have weekly assessments on whether there will be changes in the current alert level in Metro Manila.

“When you do a pilot, you study all of the factors, at pag nakita natin na hindi nagwowork yung component na yun we can change that because we are piloting,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said.

(MM | With reports from Greg Gregorio, News 5)

Privacy Statement

Our Privacy Commitment

TV5 Network Inc. values and respects your privacy. We are committed to safeguarding your personal data in compliance with Republic Act No. 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012 and its implementing rules and regulations.

We have developed a Privacy Policy that adopts and observes appropriate standards for personal data protection. While our Privacy Policy sets out the general principles governing the collection, use, and disclosure of our users’ personal information, our Privacy Commitment seeks to inform you more about TV5’s privacy practices.

Why do we collect your personal information (as applicable)?

We may collect and maintain basic information about you as site user of TV5 sites for the following purposes:

To deliver news and updates on current events, sports, esports and entertainment;
To share livestreams of news and sports events;
To understand our viewers’ needs and preferences;
To meet legal and regulatory requirements; and
To perform other processes or disclosures that are required to comply with pertinent laws, rules, or regulations.

Where do we get your personal information?

There are several ways we collect your personal information.

Information that you personally provided.

Most of the personal information we have are those that you have provided us when you:
- Register to our programs or services;
- Inquired, filed a complaint or requested for our services;
- Took part in our research and surveys; and/or
- Became our Partner, Vendor, Contractor or Supplier.

Information we collect during your engagement with us

We also collect information as you use our products and services, like:
- Viewing our websites;
- Activities that are being tracked by our website cookies;
- Calling our hotline;
- Using our apps, websites, and self-service channels and portals; and/or
- Joining our promos, prize raffles, or rewards and loyalty programs.

Information we collect from other sources

Other means of collection of information may be through:
- Our market research initiatives;
- When you visit and use our websites and mobile application; and
- Subsidiaries, affiliates, and third-party business partners to whom you have given consent to share your information to us.

When do we disclose personal information?

There may be instances when we are required to share the information you provided us. In such cases, we ensure that your personal information will be disclosed on a confidential manner, through secure channels and in compliance with the Data Privacy Act and other privacy laws.

We will never share, rent, or sell your personal information to third parties outside of TV5 except in special cases where you have given consent, and in cases described in our privacy policy.

In some instances, we may be required to disclose your personal information to our agents, subsidiaries, affiliates, business partners and other third-party agencies and service providers as part of our regular business operations and for the provision of our programs and services. This means we might share your information with our service providers, contractors, and professional advisers who help us provide our services.

How we protect your personal information

The integrity, confidentiality, and security of your information is important to us. We have implemented technical, organizational, and physical security measures that are designed to protect your information from unauthorized or fraudulent access, alteration, disclosure, misuse, and other unlawful activities.

We also put in effect the following safeguards:

We keep and protect your information using a secured server behind a firewall, encryption and security controls;
We keep your information only for as long as it is necessary for us to (a) provide the products and services that you avail from us, (b) for our legitimate business purposes, (c) to comply with pertinent laws, and (d) for special cases that will require the exercise or defense of legal claims;
We limit the access to your information only to qualified and authorized personnel who are trained to handle your information with strict confidentiality;
We undergo regular audits and rigorous testing of our infrastructure’s security protocols to ensure your data is always protected;
We promptly notify you and the National Privacy Commission when sensitive personal information that may, under the circumstances, be used to enable identity fraud are reasonably believed to have been acquired by an unauthorized person; and
We let you update your information securely to keep our records accurate.

TV5 will not collect, use, or disclose your personal information for any purpose other than the purpose that you may have given your consent for.

What are your choices?

We make sure that we have your consent to continue to collect, use, and disclose your personal information for the purposes that we have identified. We want you to know that you may object or withdraw your consent and/or edit your consent preferences at any time.

If you wish to have access to the personal information in our custody or if you think that the personal information you provided is incomplete, or otherwise inaccurate, you may get in touch with our Data Protection Officer through the contact details provided below. In some instances, we may request for supporting documents or proof before we effect requested changes.

Data Protection Officer
TV5 Network Inc.
Reliance corner Sheridan Streets
Mandaluyong City
tv5dataprivacy@tv5.com.ph

What happens when there are changes in our Policy?

From time to time, we may update our privacy policy and practices to comply with changes in applicable laws and regulatory requirements, adapt to new technologies and protocols, and align with the best practices of the industry.

You will be provided notices if the changes are significant and, if we are required by law, we will obtain your updated consent.