Thread by @cnnphilippines

THREAD: Government officials hold 'Laging Handa' briefing on the COVID-19 pandemic and other national issues | LIVE bit.ly/3gYiZse

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Albay Governor Al Francis Bichara says there are 1,958 active COVID-19 cases in the province

Albay Gov. Bichara says there are enough COVID-10 testing laboratory machines in the regional hospitals, but there have been delays in the release of swab test results

Albay Gov. Bichara adds only around 6,000 doses of vaccines have so far been delivered to Albay, but that they need to inoculate 46,000 people who are part of priority groups A1 to A4

Albay Gov. Bichara on reports that patients are lining up to be accommodated in hospitals: Yung ibang pasyente gusto pumasok sa private hospital, e kaunti lang ang allocation para sa COVID. Yung iba ayaw pumasok quarantine facilities ng LGU, gusto nila maganda ang serbisyo.

Albay Gov. Bichara: Yung nagpalabas na magiging India ito, exaggerated yun. Hindi naman nagsabi yung mga medical station na magiging India ito.

Albay Gov. Bichara: Compared sa ibang lugar, hindi naman gano'n kalala ang problema dito para mag ECQ. Yung mga tao ayaw na mag ECQ dahil mawawalan sila ng trabaho. Ubos narin ang pera namin para sa ayuda.

Albay Gov. Bichara asks the national government to deploy at least 40,000 more COVID-19 vaccine doses to cover the rest of the priority groups A1-A4

DILG acting spokesperson Asec. Odilon Pasaraba says the department welcomes Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia's decision to follow IATF protocols on returning Filipinos

cnnphilippines.com/regional/2021/…

DILG Asec. Pasaraba on LGUs without ultra-cold storage units for Pfizer vaccines: Ine-encourage ng ating pamahalaan ang pakikipag-ugnayan sa private sector na may kakayahan in terms of storage requirements

DILG Asec. Pasaraba on Manila Mayor Isko Moreno allowing walk-ins in vaccination sites: Interior Sec. Eduardo Año encourages local chief executives to develop strategies to ramp up vaccination (1/2)

DILG Asec. Pasaraba: Hence, any strategy done without offending our established health and vaccination protocols is welcome (2/2)

DILG Asec. Pasaraba on Duterte's threat to arrest those who refuse vaccination: Ang mensahe lamang niya ay seryosohin ang pagbabakuna. Ito sinusuportahan ng DILG na kailangan mag-cooperate ang mga kababayan na kung nasa priority list sila, kailangan magpabakuna sila.

DILG Asec. Pasaraba calls on local government units to strengthen enforcement of the face shield policy: Alam naman natin na per health authorities, this is a preventive measure

Dr. Karl Henson, PH Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, says the Delta coronavirus variant first identified in India is more contagious due to an "additional mutation in its material," which isn't present in the Alpha variant first found in the UK

Dr. Henson: Although hindi pa well-established kung talagang mas nakakamatay ang Delta variant, ang alam natin mas malala ang sakit at mas likely ang hospitalization

Dr. Henson on reports that the Delta variant infects younger people more: I think it's more to do dahil 'yung mga bata mas lumalabas na ngayon. However, it's possible din talaga na mas mas madali siyang kumapit sa mga bata.

Dr. Henson on Philippine Genome Center's efforts to detect cases of the Delta variant: They're doing a very good job, pero totoo na hindi masyadong malaki ang capacity nila

Dr. Henson: Yung mga Delta variants na na-detect so far, lahat nanggaling sa Metro Manila dahil dito pumapasok yung galing sa ibang bansa. I think, for now at least, all evidence show na yung Delta variant sa Pilipinas ay mukhang imported pa.

Dr. Henson: Totoong the data from the UK show na mas mababa yung efficacy ng mga bakuna (Pfizer and AstraZeneca) sa Delta variant, pero it's almost as effective in preventing severe disease

cnnphilippines.com/news/2021/6/22…

Dr. Henson on cases of vaccinated individuals still contracting the coronavirus: Kaya ang important parallel message ay dapat hindi tayo maging lax doon sa iba pang interventions protecting us against COVID-19

Dr. Henson says people might need vaccine booster shots, especially with the emergence of new variants, but he notes evidence on its necessity has yet to be released

Dr. Henson on face shield policy: Dati po, admittedly, ako ay skeptic ng face shields. Kaso po in the face of Delta variants knocking on our doorstep, I think we need to employ all the protection we can get.