Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Monday, August 2, 2021.
READ: Covid surge in Metro Manila 'serious' – OCTA
Metro Manila is experiencing a "serious surge" in Covid-19 cases, according to the independent OCTA Research. OCTA made the assessment as the Department of Health (DoH) logged 8,735 new cases in the country on Sunday. It was the third straight time daily cases have breached the 8,000 thresholds. OCTA said the seven-day average cases in the National Capital Region (NCR) were at 1,279, higher by 40 percent than last week's 913. The reproduction number also rose from 1.29 to 1.52. Covid bed occupancy in hospitals and intensive care units (ICUs) was up by seven percent from the previous week. OCTA said at the current rate, hospital bed occupancy in Metro Manila will reach 70 percent in less than five weeks, and ICU bed occupancy will hit 70 percent in less than three weeks. Metropolitan Manila or the NCR is in general community quarantine with "heightened and additional" restrictions until August 5. It will transition into the stricter enhanced community quarantine from August 6 to 20. OCTA, which had called for a two-week "circuit breaker" or hard lockdown to stop the further spread of the virus, considers Pateros and the cities of Makati, San Juan, Malabon, Navotas, Las Piñas, Pasig, Muntinlupa, Valenzuela, Parañaque, Quezon, Marikina and Caloocan as "high risk areas." The new cases bring the total caseload to 1.598 million, 63,646 of which are active.
READ: Police tighten NCR Plus border controls
Police on Sunday began to impose travel restrictions to seal off Metro Manila and outlying provinces that make up NCR Plus ahead of the imposition of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) on Friday. The restrictions were intended to minimize the spread of the more transmissible Delta variant of Covid-19. Residents of the metropolis and the provinces of Rizal, Calamba, Cavite and Bulacan will need special passes to travel outside the "bubble" or protected zone. Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said travel outside NCR Plus will be limited to authorized persons outside of residence (Apors).
READ: Marcial secures Olympic bronze
Filipino boxer Eumir Marcial secured a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics with a sensational first round knockout win over Arman Darchinyan of Armenia in the men's middleweight quarterfinals on Sunday at the Kokugikan Arena. The 25-year-old Marcial knocked the 27-year-old Darchinyan out with a right hook with 49 seconds left in the first round. Marcial's win assured the Philippines a three-medal Olympic finish, a feat last seen 89 years ago at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympiad, where Teofilo Ildefonso in swimming, Simeon Toribio in high jump and Jose Villanueva in boxing won a bronze medal each. After the opening bell rang, Marcial went to work, peppering Darchinyan with punches, as he was light on his feet and proved to be a hard target for the latter. He scored a standing eight count knockdown after a combination of punches on Darchinyan at the 1:28 mark. He continued to charge, unleashing a flurry of punches capped by a stinging right hook to finish off the Armenian, who he also defeated in the 2018 World Championships. Marcial, a 2019 Southeast Asian Games gold medalist, faces Oleksandr Khyzhniak of Ukraine in the semifinal round on August 5, where a win will catapult him to the gold medal round. One of the favorites in his division to win a medal, Marcial first won over Younes Nemouchi of Algeria via referee's stoppage.
READ: Go tops survey on trustworthy senators
SEN. Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go topped a recent survey by Publicus Asia on the "overall trustworthiness" of the current members of the Senate. The independent and non-commissioned survey covered the period of July 13 to July 19, and had 1,500 respondents.
READ: Lawmaker proposes 'business bubbles'
A lawmaker is proposing setting up "business bubbles" in Metro Manila which will go into a two-week enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) starting August 6. Marikina Second District Rep. Stella Quimbo said in a statement issued on Sunday the government must try a different strategy in fighting Covid-19, now that a reliable screening method using antigen swab tests has been established and more than 7 million individuals have been fully vaccinated against the virus.
READ: Metro churches cancel public Masses
ALL dioceses in Metro Manila have stopped holding public Masses because of the government's decision to place the National Capital Region under enhanced community quarantine from August 6 to 20. Churches again turned to streaming online Masses from July 31 to August 20. The archdiocese of Manila encouraged the faithful to stay at home amid the threat of the Delta variant of Covid-19. Bishop Honesto Ongtioco of Cubao said churches will reopen for public worship on August 20 if conditions improve.
BUSINESS: Inflation likely down anew in July
Topping business, the country's headline inflation likely slowed down in July, analysts polled by The Manila Times. Projections for the month ranged from 3.9 to 4.4 percent with a 4.0 percent average, down from the 4.1 percent posted in June. The figure however was still higher than the 2.7 percent recorded in July last year. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) earlier projected inflation to settle within 3.9 to 4.7 percent. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) will release official July inflation data on August 5. Philstocks Financial Inc. senior research analyst Japhet Tantiangco said inflation likely rose to 4.4 percent.
SPORTS: Carlos Yulo eyes redemption in vault
Back to the Olympics, Filipino athletes Carlos Yulo and Kristina Knott take center stage for the Philippine campaign at the Tokyo Olympics on Monday. Yulo seeks redemption in the men's vault final at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre, while Knott vies for a semis berth in her Olympic debut in the women's 200-meter event at the Olympic stadium. Yulo's competition starts at 5:51 p.m. (Philippine time), as he tries to gain ground from his elimination in his pet event floor exercise on July 24, as he was expected to make the final round on July 24. Meanwhile, Knott, who is half American, makes her Olympic debut with a goal of making the semifinal round. Knott's 200-meter race begins at 10:18 a.m.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Rigoberto Tiglao and Fr. Ranhilio Aquino are today's front page columnists. Tiglao belies an SWS survey on the South China Sea issue, while Fr. Aquino talks about truth and honesty.
Today's editorial discusses the recent Times renewable energy forum between the Philippines and India. Read a full version on the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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On behalf of The Manila Times, this is Aric John Sy Cua reporting. Have a safe week ahead.