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LANDED In this May 3 photo, several passenger jets are seen parked at Terminal 2 of Ninoy Aquino International Airport during the shutdown in Luzon and much of the country amid the threat of the coronavirus pandemic. —MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
The government should use Philippine airlines to transport COVID-19 vaccines to the country to help them survive the coronavirus pandemic, a lawmaker said Sunday.
“I suppose we will get the vaccines from where they are being produced. Instead of foreign carriers, let’s use local airlines to help them earn more at this time of the pandemic so they can keep their employees, ”said Quezon City representative Precious Hipólito Castelo in a statement.
He said foreign airlines can be used if Philippine airlines cannot meet the requirements to transport vaccines.
Castelo cited estimates that more than 50 Boeing 777 freighters would be needed to transport 60 million doses of a vaccine to Manila.
Once the vaccines arrive in the Philippines, he said, the next step is to fly it to various parts of the country, which would require the services of not only major local carriers, but also small airlines operating out of Manila, Clark. and other regional airports. “The government can help them avoid losing more labor [by engaging] their services in delivering the vaccine, ”said Castelo.
In October, Philippine Airlines said it was reducing its workforce by up to 35 percent, affecting 2,700 employees, as part of a plan to survive the pandemic.
Cebu Pacific, the nation’s largest low-cost airline, announced in July that it was reducing its workforce by 25 percent, or more than 800 employees.
AirAsia has also announced plans to reduce its workforce by 12 percent, or 260 workers.
The head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Eric Domingo, has said that COVID-19 vaccines may be available in the Philippines by March 2021 after President Duterte has allowed the agency to expedite authorization grants of emergency use for successful vaccinations from the usual six months to 21 days. .
The Philippines recorded 1,768 additional coronavirus infections on Sunday, bringing the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country to 439,834.
Quezon City reported the highest number of new cases, 112, followed by Laguna (94), Rizal (90), Davao City (71) and Benguet (69).
The Health Department said 9,062 more patients had recovered, bringing the total number of COVID-19 survivors to 408,634. But the death toll rose to 8,554 with the death of 29 more patients.
Deaths and recoveries left the country with 22,646 active cases, of which 84.2 percent were mild, 6.2 percent asymptomatic, 0.34 percent moderate, 3.1 percent severe, and 6.1 percent critical. .
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What you need to know about the coronavirus.
For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150.
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