This Week in Palawan (June 5 to 11, 2022)

The Department of Health launched an 8-month smoke-free campaign on tourist spots targeting to highlight beaches in Palawan, Boracay, Caramoan, and other famous beach attractions as the main areas for the smoke-free campaign.

The smoke-free campaign on prime beach destinations, parks, and popular tourist destinations was launched last May 31 in collaboration with the SmokeFree Philippines, SmokeFree Aklan, Action on Smoking and Health, Vital Strategies, and World Health Organization’s Office in the Philippines. The launching of the campaign was set in line with World No Tobacco Day.

Francisco T. Duque III, DOH Health Secretary, says that they are hopeful that the smoke-free campaign shall further promote and raise awareness and make avenues to ensure the health of the Filipinos. Sticking to the mission of DOH in providing universal health care, the campaign would help impact society by giving families an environment that would able them to enjoy without the fear and exposure to second-hand smoking. [1]

Meanwhile, for awareness of weather conditions in Palawan, traveling might be most recommended to be planned considering the rainy season in Palawan as a low-pressure area is being monitored near Coron Island in North Palawan.

Palawan is anticipated to have cloudy skies, thunderstorms, and scattered rain showers brought by the LPA.

The Visayas, in general, will experience cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms.

Fair weather with isolated rain showers is expected in most Philippine areas in the whole country. [2]

This June 18, Sitel Palawan participates in the much-awaited festival of the year in Palawan – the Baragatan sa Palawan 2022.

Sitel Palawan is set to join, support, and collaborate with the Provincial Government of Palawan and will host the Sitel Palawan’s Band Legends: Greatest Battle of All, which will be held at Provincial Capitol Square or previously known as Cory Park, this June 18.

Five new cases of the COVID-19 Omicron subvariant have been detected in the Philippines, specifically in the Western Visayas region.

During a DOH briefing, the Director of Health Promotion and Communication Service, Dr. Beverly Ho, details these five new cases. Three were found among fully vaccinated returning overseas Filipinos from the United States, and two reported being detected from two fully vaccinated individuals.

These five identified cases have been reported coming from the same household. Also, the said cases have already recovered and are considered asymptomatic.

With these new cases of the Omicron subvariant emerging, it is still premature to tell if this tells a sign of another upcoming surge since it is still challenging to determine its factors.

On a closer scope, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, reports 82 COVID-related deaths from January to May, the Incident Management Team recently released.

The IMT reports that 70 deaths out of 82 were not vaccinated, 11 were fully vaccinated, and 1 case has only received an initial dose.

And for Palaweños, Adventist Hospital brings good news as they announce their home service laboratory services. Palawan residents can now avail themselves of the home service laboratory services with just a call away through these numbers—0968 5719928 for Smart and 0915 7888863 for Globe.

The use of the Moderna vaccine in children ages 6 to 11 years old is currently being investigated by the Health Technology Assessment Council (HTAC) after the Food and Drug Administration adhered to the amendment of the Emergency Use Authorization of the Moderna vaccine among children.

The DOH is currently waiting for the World Health Organization’s recommendations to serve as guidelines for the HTAC in assessing and evaluating.

Upon finishing the assessment and gathering enough evidence to support the recommendation of the use of the Moderna vaccine, the DOH National Vaccination Operation Center will then start the vaccination rollout.

Visit Yoorekka Magazine for more travel and COVID-19 updates and guidelines in Palawan!