A TOTAL of 1,888 additional Covid-19 cases were recorded by the Department of Health (DOH)on Sunday, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 561,169.
Through the “time-based recovery strategy” dubbed “Oplan Recovery,” 9,737 recoveries and 20 deaths were recorded.
The Oplan Recovery is an initiative that the DOH activated to monitor the status of confirmed Covid-19 deaths and recoveries.
Under Oplan Recovery, a patient is tagged as recovered when certain conditions are met even without repeat RT-PCR testing and is recommended by the Philippine College of Physicians, and the Philippine Society of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.
It is characterized by enhanced data collection, validation, and reconciliation efforts between the DOH Central and Regional Offices, and the Local Government Units.
Of the total number of active cases, 4.7 percent (26,238) are active, 93.2 percent (522,843) have recovered, and 2.15 percent (12,088) have died.
Two laboratories were not able to submit their data to the Covid-19 Document Repository System (CDRS) on February 20, 2021.
Vaccine plans
Meanwhile, government agencies and local government units (LGUs) were urged to require corporations within their jurisdiction to submit their respective immunization plans for their employees as part of their sustainability management, a lawmaker said.
“We would urge government agencies to require corporations within their regulatory jurisdiction to submit their plans to immunize their workers as part of their business sustainability management,” Anakalusugan party-list Rep. Michael T. Defensor said in a statement on Sunday.
Defensor said his call is addressed to large industry regulators such as the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Insurance Commission, Energy Regulatory Board, National Telecommunications Commission, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, among others.
“Local governments can also help by requiring corporations within their territories to tender their workforce vaccination plans,” Defensor said.
Defensor noted that in March last year, the Securities and Exchange Commission ordered all publicly listed corporations “to apprise the investing public of the impact of the new coronavirus disease on their business operations and the risk mitigation actions they have taken.”
“We would like to believe that corporations are trusted by their employees, so they will be more inclined to get vaccinated if it is coursed through the clinics of their HMOs,” he said.
“Many business process outsourcing (BPO) and bank staff, for example, may readily favor receiving vaccination arranged by their HMOs,” he added.
Defensor said HMOs are also in an “excellent position” to help employers explain the benefits of vaccination to their employees.
“Government will need the help of the entire private corporate sector if we want to rapidly immunize a larger portion of the population. This is absolutely imperative if we want to reopen more sectors of the economy and avert further job losses,” Defensor said.
He noted a Pulse Asia Inc. showed that only 32 percent of Filipinos are willing to be vaccinated against the new coronavirus disease while 47 percent are not, with the remaining 21 percent still undecided.
A separate poll c by the OCTA Research Group indicated that only 25 percent of Filipinos are willing to be vaccinated, Defensor said.
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