Good day. Here are the Top Stories of The Manila Times for Dec. 30, 2021.
READ: Hospitals postpone `PhilHealth holiday'
THE Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines Inc. (PHAPi) deferred its planned five-day "PhilHealth holiday" following the concerns raised by patients. THE Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines Inc. (PHAPi) deferred its planned five-day "PhilHealth holiday" following the concerns raised by patients. PHAPi President Dr. Jose Rene de Grano told The Manila Times in a Viber message on Wednesday. that while hospitals will continue to help indigent patients who are dependent on PhilHealth benefits, more patients will suffer if the state insurer will continue to delay paying the reimbursements of hospitals. He clarified that the seven hospitals in Iloilo are bent on disengaging with PhilHealth. The seven hospitals said that PhilHealth owed them close to P900 million.
READ: COVID CASES SOAR
COVID-19 cases have soared again after the country's positivity rate shot up by more than 5 percent, OCTA Research group warned. On Wednesday, the Department of Health (DoH) reported 889 new cases, the first time infections went beyond the 600 figure since November 29 when cases hit 665. This puts the total number of active cases at 10,418, the highest in a month, of which, 4,920 are either asymptomatic or mild. The positivity rate nearly doubled to 4.5 percent, from 2.6 percent on Tuesday, with 27,615 tests, or 1,243 samples testing positive. Only one laboratory was not able to submit data to the DoH. OCTA Senior Research Fellow Dr. Guido David predicted on Tuesday night that the country may reach around 1,200 cases in the next few days. He added that he cannot rule out that the highly transmissible Omicron variant is driving the spike.
READ: WHO warns of 'very high' Omicron risk
GENEVA: Omicron still poses "very high" risk and could overwhelm health care systems, the WHO warned on Wednesday, as the highly transmissible coronavirus variant fueled record outbreaks in many countries. Case numbers have shot up 11 percent globally in the last week, forcing governments from China to Germany and France to find a difficult balance between anti-virus restrictions and the need to keep economies and societies open. The Netherlands and Switzerland said Omicron had become the dominant strain in their countries, and while some studies suggested it causes milder Covid-19, the World Health Organization urged caution. The WHO said early data from Britain, South Africa and Denmark— which currently has the world's highest rate of infection per person— suggested there was a reduced risk of hospitalization for Omicron compared with Delta. But it added that further data was needed to understand Omicron's severity.
READ: Filipinos face New Year with hope – SWS survey
A MAJORITY of adult Filipinos will welcome 2022 with hope rather than fear, the fourth quarter survey of the Social Weather Stations (SWS) revealed. Respondents were asked, "Is it with hopes or with fears that you enter the coming year?" Ninety-three percent of those polled replied that they would welcome the New Year with hope, 2 percent higher than in 2020. Hope for the coming New Year rose in subnational areas in Metro Manila, Balance Luzon and the Visayas with 95, 93 and 90 percent, respectively, increasing at 5, 1 and 2 percent. Meanwhile, it stayed at 93 percent in Mindanao.
Topping Business
READ: Peso plunges to P51 to a dollar
THE Philippine peso had its worst day in three months after returning to the P51 to a dollar territory on Wednesday. The local currency depreciated by 54 centavos from the previous day's close of P50.46 to $51:$1. It hasn't been this weak since September 30, when it closed at the same rate. It is also the lowest since March 26, 2020 when it closed at P51.07 to $1. The sluggish peso performance can be ascribed to the declining effect of seasonal expenditure, Covid-19 pandemic developments, and global oil prices, according to Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) chief economist Michael Ricafort.
In Sports
READ: James, Westbrook have triple- doubles as Lakers end skid
HOUSTON: LeBron James and Russell Westbrook both had triple-doubles and the Los Angeles Lakers snapped a season-high, five-game skid with a 132-123 victory over the Houston Rockets on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila). James had 32 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for his third triple-double this season. Westbrook scored 24 points with 12 rebounds and 10 assists for his seventh of the season. Houston stuck around for most of the night, but James took overlate to allow the Lakers to pull away and hand the Rockets their fifth consecutive loss.
And as a special feature, The Manila Times takes a look at the women who powered Philippine sports in 2021.
READ: Opinion
The Editorial tackles how looming conflicts present risks and opportunities for the Philippines. Read the full version on print or subscribe to its Digital edition. Antonio Contreras, Yen Makabenta and Edcel Lagman are the featured columnists on the front page. Contreras writes about election miracles, nightmares and realities; Makabenta on Magellan who, like Columbus, turned into a wallflower in the quincentennial of his voyage; and Lagman on how 2022 faces an improvident and unconstitutional legislation.
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This is Christian Crow Maghanoy reporting.