Taga Ormoc Daily

Photo: Aztrazeneca The Philippines this week will sign a deal for the purchase of a vaccine against the novel coronavirus from British pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca, an official at the lead of the country's COVID-19 vaccination program said Thursday.  Officials will sign the tripartite deal for 2 million doses of the AstraZeneca drug on Friday, said vaccine czar Carlito Galvez.   AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford announced on Monday that their inexpensive, easy-to-produce coronavirus vaccine was either 62 percent or 90 percent effective, depending on the manner in which the doses were given.  The double jab vaccine is by far the least expensive among frontrunners, at about 2.5 euros or about P143 per dose.   It also has a significant advantage when it comes to transport and storage.   Moderna's vaccine must be kept at -20 degrees Celsius, while Pfizer's requires an even chillier -70C to remain viable. AstraZeneca's vaccine, by contrast, c...

 The Department of Education (DepEd) apologized for yet another controversial module for distance learning on Friday, November 13. This time, it was a physical education worksheet that called actress Angel Locsin an "obese person." Around the second week of November, photos of a music, arts, physical education, and health (MAPEH) module from DepEd-Occidental Mindoro made rounds on social media. It prompted students with the following situation: "Angel Locsin is an obese person. She, together with Coco Martin eats fatty and sweet food in Mang Inasal fast food restaurant most of the time. In her house, she always watching television (sic) and does not have any physical activities." The module asks students what would happen to Locsin if she "continues her lifestyle." "Upon initial investigation, this office found out that the said material is not contained in the self-learning module (SLM) developed and quality assured by the DepEd Central Office. The s...

 DILG tells Cagayan Province to lift strict health protocol restrictions on relief and rescue personnel   The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has directed the Provincial Government of Cagayan to lift its strict COVID health protocols to allow relief, search and rescue teams, and media outlets with immediate access to areas affected by Typhoon Ulysses.   DILG Secretary Eduardo M. Año said that they have received numerous reports that relief and media organizations are being barred at the provincial border because of strict quarantine restrictions imposed by the Provincial Government.   “The situation in Cagayan requires unhampered disaster response and recovery operations by rescue and relief organizations. Therefore, all LGUs in Cagayan and Isabela should ease up access in their areas to facilitate disaster operations,” he said.   “Existing LGU requirements related to the management of the COVID-19 pandemic should not hamper nor delay the ...

 SEVERE WEATHER BULLETIN #13 FOR:  Typhoon "#UlyssesPH" (VAMCO) TROPICAL CYCLONE: WARNING ISSUED AT 11:00 AM, 11 November 2020 (Valid for broadcast until the next bulletin to be issued at 2 PM today)"ULYSSES" INTENSIFIES INTO TYPHOON WHILE MOVING CLOSER TOWARDS QUEZON-AURORA AREA Destructive winds and intense with at times torrential rainfall associated with the region of the eyewall and inner rainbands of the typhoon will be experienced over the northern portions of Catanduanes, Camarines Sur, and Camarines Norte until tonight and over Aurora and northern portion of Quezon tonight through tomorrow early morning. Hazards affecting land areas: • Strong winds: Throughout the passage of the typhoon, destructive typhoon-force winds will be experiencing in areas under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal (TCWS) #3, damaging gale- to storm-force winds in areas under TCWS #2, and strong breeze to near gale conditions in areas under TCWS #1. In other areas, the rest of Northern Luz...

Photo:Associated Press Democrat Joe Biden defeated President Donald Trump to become the 46th president of the United States on Saturday, positioning himself to lead a nation gripped by a historic pandemic and a confluence of economic and social turmoil. His victory came after more than three days of uncertainty as election officials sorted through a surge of mail-in votes that delayed the processing of some ballots. Biden crossed 270 Electoral College votes with a win in Pennsylvania. Trump refused to concede, threatening further legal action on ballot counting. Biden, 77, staked his candidacy less on any distinctive political ideology than on galvanizing a broad coalition of voters around the notion that Trump posed an existential threat to American democracy. The strategy proved effective, resulting in pivotal victories in Michigan and Wisconsin as well as Pennsylvania, onetime Democratic bastions that had flipped to Trump in 2016. Biden, in a statement, said he was humbled by the vi...

NEWS UPDATE: “Siony” exited the Philippine area of responsibility last Friday night and was moving west-northwestward over the Bashi Channel along the Luzon Strait in the Pacific Ocean.  Meanwhile, a low pressure area that is expected to develop into a tropical depression will be named “Tonyo” once it enters the Philippine area of responsibility. It is forecast to move generally west-northwestward or northwestward towards Eastern Visayas and may likely reach the area tomorrow afternoon. The trough of the low-pressure area will bring scattered light to moderate with at times heavy rains over Mindanao, Eastern and Central Visayas and the Bicol region.