Author: Padayon UP

Even with COVID-19 putting a strain on the country’s healthcare system and economy, experts have found that the world’s indigenous peoples have been disproportionately affected. The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs recently cited that their relatively poor access to healthcare, higher rates of communicable and non-communicable diseases, and lack of access to essential services make indigenous communities especially vulnerable to the ravages of a global pandemic.

As part of their mandate of social responsibility, the UP Badminton Association in Diliman (UP BadAss) has organized two projects to assist the indigenous communities, particularly the Itneg, of Namarabar, Peñarrubia, Abra to find a partial solution to these problems.

The virtual discussion addresses the challenges, issues, and concerns that Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are experiencing as they transition into a digital mode of delivery of education, and their varied ways of managing and coping with learning disruptions in the current higher education environment.

This Weekly Bulletin highlights the different COVID-19 responses of the eight UP Constituent Universities and their involvement in various public service initiatives during the pandemic. It features the UP System Report on the CUs’ COVID-19 efforts from June 1 to 15.

An enriching discussion titled “COVID-19 and the Economy” on the intersection of human and economic health took place on June 16, 2020, as former National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary and UP School of Economics Emeritus Professor Ernesto M. Pernia was the guest and resource speaker at the UP Alumni Association’s (UPAA) Kapihan ng Bayan sa UP program.

The UP Resilience Institute’s (UPRI) Research and Creative Work team has developed a policy sourcebook of the government’s policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Managing the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Philippines: A Policy Sourcebook consists of two volumes. Volume I covers national issuances while Volume II, which will be released at a later date, will focus on local government policies.

This policy sourcebook is an evolving work that will be updated monthly as part of UPRI’s contribution to the efforts of the UP COVID-19 Pandemic Response Team and in pursuit of UP’s mandate as a public service university. It is meant to help and inform the public, students, scholars, researchers, policymakers, and practitioners in the intersecting fields of public health, disaster risk management, and crisis governance by providing an accessible and comprehensive annotated list of COVID-related policies in one document.

In his talk, “COVID-19 and the Heart”, the eighth installment of UP’s STOP COVID DEATHS webinar series streamed on June 12, Permejo said these medications should be used with caution and extreme care in patients with preexisting cardiac issues who have contracted COVID-19. These drug therapies are linked to QTc interval prolongation, which may lead to arrythmias, including life-threatening torsades de pointes.

Mayor Arlene B. Arcillas of the City of Santa Rosa, Laguna and Mayor Rex T. Gatchalian of Valenzuela City narrated how PPP enabled their local government units (LGUs) to conduct targeted testing, establish the needed isolation facilities and diagnostic laboratories, and distribute more relief goods in these critical times.

The two talked about their COVID-19 management strategies during the Center for Strategic Planning and Policy Studies (CSPPS) Policy Webinar Series on June 29.

UP Manila (UPM) College of Medicine (UPCM) Dean Charlotte Chiong said, “We need to be self-reliant in testing, prevention, and treatment.” This was her statement after being asked by PhilHealth Board Director Susan Mercado to comment on the country’s independence in the fight against COVID-19.

Chiong was a guest speaker in the eighth installment of UP’s STOP COVID DEATHS webinar series, “COVID-19 and the Heart,” of which Mercado was a co-host, along with UP Manila National Telehealth Center (NTHC) Director Raymond Sarmiento. The episode was streamed live on June 12, the 122nd anniversary of Philippine Independence.

UP Tacloban turned over to the local government of Jipapad, Eastern Samar 231 sacks of rice (@ 10 kilos), 10 liters of alcohol-based hand rub, and 350 3-D printed face shields on 21 June 2020 for distribution to residents. The donation was delivered with the assistance of Navara Nation Philippines-Eastern Visayas Chapter.

A molecular epidemiologist from UPLB explained how pandemics, such as COVID-19, are caused by declining biodiversity.

Dr. Mary Grace B. Dacuma, an assistant professor at the Animal Biology Division of the Institute of Biological Sciences, discussed this during the third leg of the Biodiversity and Resiliency Webinar Series of the Energy Development Corporation (EDC) on June 19.

Dr. Dacuma, a PhD holder from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, shed light on the concept of pathogen spillover, or the transmission of the agents of infectious diseases such as virus, to humans.