Sunday, December 27, 2020

Travel ban to keep out variant urged. Inquirer Newsletter. December 28, 2020

UNIMAGINABLE Where before it used to crawl with passengers at this time of the year, the departure area of Ninoy Aquino International Airport is all but empty in this photo taken three days before Christmas. The Philippines has extended its ban on flights from the United Kingdom to the middle of January next year due to the new COVID-19 virus strain. --LYN RILLON

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COVID, pandemic and lockdown: How 2020 changed the world

PARIS—When the world celebrated the dawn of a new decade with a blaze of firework parties and revelry on Jan. 1, few could have imagined what 2020 had in store. In the last 12 months, the novel coronavirus has paralyzed economies, devastated communities and confined nearly 4 billion people to their homes. —STORY BY AFP

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Have P100,000? Here are 5 smart ways to invest it in 2021

It is good to keep some cash in a bank account to secure your financial needs in case unexpected expenses come up in the future, but having too much cash may also mean a huge loss of opportunities. —STORY BY Henry Ong

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Travel ban to keep out variant urged

The Philippines should shut its border to all countries with known cases of the new coronavirus variant, lawmakers from the House of Representatives said on Sunday. President Duterte on Saturday approved the extension of a two-week travel ban on the United Kingdom up to mid-January to keep the variant from reaching the Philippines.

He also approved mandatory quarantine for travelers from countries where the variant had been reported, such as Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong.

But for some members of the House, that is not enough.

Community transmission

Antique Rep. Loren Legarda, a deputy House Speaker, said on Sunday a “travel ban from countries with known mutant coronavirus must be highly considered now.”

“We cannot afford to be laid back, again, and wait for local transmission,” Legarda tweeted, recalling how she recommended to Health Secretary Francisco Duque III to impose a travel ban on China in January, but the health chief did not heed her recommendation.

She said Duque told the House then: “That is not needed. We can handle it.”

“And now we must wait for community transmission? We can ill afford that,” Legarda said. On Saturday, Duque said the government would consider a travel ban on other countries only when local transmission of the variant occurred in those countries.

In a statement, BHW Rep. Angelica Natasha Co urged a ban on all flights from the United Kingdom, where the coronavirus variant was first reported in mid-December.

“I appeal to all airlines [that] have direct and connecting flights to and from the UK to voluntarily stop all those flights. I make this appeal for the sake of travelers and all your airline workers. Please do your part to stop the new [coronavirus] variant from spreading,” Co said. —WITH REPORTS FROM NESTOR CORRALES, JEROME ANING, JULIE ALIPALA AND DONA Z. PAZZIBUGAN INQ

Editorial

Allow tax-free vaccine imports

As the country prepares for the next phase of the public health crisis—the procurement and rollout of a vaccination program—it is imperative that the government again solicit all the help it can get from the private sector. Given how bureaucracy will most likely cause delays and complications in the vaccination program, the government should consider the proposal submitted last week by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).

Read full story: opinion.inquirer.net