General Info

[WestCoast1]

Taxi's. Good luck. There has been for 4 days running a shortage of both Grab and regular taxi's. When Grabbing a Taxi (after 10 am, about), after entering departure and destination points, I quickly get a msg: "Sorry there are no drivers available". I then try a Grab car, same result. I have spent more than 10 minutes (or 20) at a time each of the last 4 days hunting taxi's on busy streets. The rare taxi that does come by already has a passenger.

Also, traffic is almost back to normal in the daytime -- bad since the past few weeks. It seems as if the number of cars on the road and people in the streets and sidewalk has increased, but not the number of taxi's.

[WestCoast1]

Finally learned what the new 'Alert Levels' are. See pic. This replaces the previous ECQ / MCQ.

When the NCR came out of its last strict MECQ, we were at Level 4 (the strictest of 1 thru 4 levels). Then the past few weeks they lightened up to Level 3, which is set to continue thru Nov 14:

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news...14-2021/story/

From the article:

Under Alert Level 3, several establishments including restaurants, gyms, cinemas and movie houses will be allowed to operate at 30% indoor venue capacity only for fully vaccinated individuals and 50% outdoor venue capacity, provided that all employees are fully vaccinated. I am used to pulling up my vax card on my phone before entering most any coffee shop now. While many eateries have re-opened, they have most of the chairs removed or taped off, and you can only enter if fully vaxxed.

In addition, two articles on the need to lower the Alert Level to 2, with reduced new cases and the economy (adding p3. 6 billion to the economy weekly).

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/23/...vid-19-decline

https://www.bworldonline.com/further...Q2DMGaBRUSU_9w

And there are about 78 NCR areas under lockdown:

https://www.msn.com/en-ph/news/natio...dlBtdKk3plUNPU

From the article:

The number of areas under granular lockdown in the National Capital Region (NCR) has increased to 78 from 76 as of Tuesday, based on data from the Philippine National Police (PNP) released Wednesday.

In an update, the PNP said the areas under lockdown are located in 54 barangays. The areas under granular lockdown included 46 houses, 21 residential buildings, seven subdivisions or villages, and four streets. According to the PNP Public Information Office, local government units (LGUs) have the authority to impose or lift the lockdowns. To ensure security and adherence to minimum health standards, the PNP has deployed 304 personnel and 254 force multipliers to the concerned areas.

Metro Manila Council (MMC) head and Paraaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez earlier said the presence of one COVID-19 case is enough to lock down a house or a condominium floor. To impose a lockdown along an entire street, there should be at least two COVID-19 cases.

[Dg8787]

Hello guys. Whats the latest on the tourist visa entry to philippines? Can tourists visit without quarantine?

Not allowed for USA tourist.

[WestCoast1]

Hello guys. Whats the latest on the tourist visa entry to philippines? Can tourists visit without quarantine?

I believe tourists can not yet visit.

On another, but good, note. See pic. In the news this morning was an article on which vaccines will be accepted by the US when inbound foreigner travel starts next month in the US. If the US is about to do it, others will probably watch for spikes, then follow suit.

WC.

[Sandy1984]

Hello guys. Whats the latest on the tourist visa entry to philippines? Can tourists visit without quarantine?

[Soapy Smith]

Really can't trust world political organizations. Like the UN human rights. This is from WSJ. Google is your friend.

Google is whose friend? Should we assume this is sarcasm? Google and Apple recently shut down the social media app of the Russian opposition as Putin's re-election opened. Simply put, Google and Apple want to be able to continue to do business in Russia.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...fore-elections

Personally, I trust UN agencies more than other sources. The UN's Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, like other UN agencies, have more than 3,000 consulting NGOs at their disposal. This is because member nations often cannot be trusted to inform the broader UN body about things going on within their borders or conflicts with neighboring countries. NGOs are by nature, much more independent. I realize NGO is a dirty word in this forum, but there's really only a handful of them that are trying to catch human sex trafficking. There are plenty of things not to like about NGOs, but their consultative status with the UN is probably not one of them.

[Bushes]

The heads that rolled in China that I remember are 1) the doctor who cautioned his graduating medical school alumni class' forum to be careful out there as something is not right. And 2) the China doctor who released the Covid19 genetic sequence; though multiple labs in China had their own independent results. And 3) the China techies who tried to preserve the social media history of the early stages of the outbreak in China.

Some number crunches recently reported that calculation and their models estimates that actual covid cases are 16 times or such higher.

PCR and lateral flow tests are expensive. The former requires labs which the WHO has positioned around Africa. But the reagents are still expensive. When you start moving around and pay for your own tests, you will see.

Africa has a very low Covid infection rate. I am waiting for the other shoe to drop to explain why.

Really can't trust world political organizations. Like the UN human rights. This is from WSJ. Google is your friend.

World Bank Cancels Flagship 'Doing Business' Report After Investigation.

Probe faults leaders including Kristalina Georgieva, now IMF managing director, who disagrees with findings.

The WHO has strict requirements for its members to be accurate bean counters. China ran afoul a number of years ago and there was a terrible brouhaha. Heads rolled. The WHO can't do it's job unless there is accountability. No cooking the books. I would trust the numbers.

[The Rose]

I suspect that some countries on the Green List have supplied some of the green stuff to a number of officials to be honest. It's the only way they could be on it.

The WHO has strict requirements for its members to be accurate bean counters. China ran afoul a number of years ago and there was a terrible brouhaha. Heads rolled. The WHO can't do it's job unless there is accountability. No cooking the books. I would trust the numbers.

[WestCoast1]

I'm writing a personal letter to Brother Kim to expedite my North Korean passport application. And congratulations to the illustrious brother leader for his success against this pandemic.

Hahaha. Next time I have coffee with Kim, I will ask him to put a rush on that.

Pics:

1) Reason #181 why I love Phils. Couple of young honies just hanging around on their phones. They didn't seem to be waiting for a ride or anything. Just. . . Lounging outdoors.

2 & 3) Graphs from the CDC data showing Covid inoculation rate in the US. A peak around April of 4 million per day. Cratered off now to a fairly smooth 1 million per day. About 220 million dosed of 333 million people (66%; I think that is 1 dose or more, not necessarily fully dosed). By Christmas, that should be about 60 million more vaccines in arms, or about 280 million with 1 dose or more, closing 80% (herd immunity). Well, if it continues that way.

https://usafacts.org/visualizations/...racker-states/

From the article:

"At least 219,624,445 people or 67% of the population have received at least one dose. Overall, 189,924,447 people or 58% of the population have been fully vaccinated."

4) A reminder. When booking hotel / apartment / condo's in Philippines, you can use the number of persons allowed per room on websites such as Agoda, Booking, or Airbb. However, regardless of what it says on those sites (see pic, Queen bed hotel room good for up to 4 persons -- maybe), you should message the hotel first thru the website (or just call them) to confirm that before reserving (especially during Covid, so many rooms / condo's offered as NO REFUND), and then again a day or two prior to arrival. Rules change without notice. By that I mean: 1) Without notice from the government, and / or 2) Without notice from the hotel or condo owner.

Don't forget to tip your cabbie.

[Mahku]

I'm writing a personal letter to Brother Kim to expedite my North Korean passport application. And congratulations to the illustrious brother leader for his success against this pandemic.

[WestCoast1]

More vax stats, from the US CDC. See graphic. From a large sample, your chances of dying from Covid are this much greater for unvaccinated vs vaccinated in these age categories:

Age -- Increased risk for unvaccinated.

80+ ---- 5 x.

65-79 -- 15 x.

50-64 -- 22 x.

30-49 -- 30 x.

18-29 -- 54 x.

12-17 -- 5 x.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/age-still...090059106.html

From the article:

Data: CDC; Note: Data represents 30% of Americans across 16 jurisdictions: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York City, Seattle/King County, Wash., Utah and Wisconsin; Chart: Danielle Alberti/Axios

[Soapy Smith]

I'm not starting a vaccine debate. Just looking at the absurdity of it all.

Did they ever find the corpses of those four British Airways pilots that died of covid?

[Wicked Roger]

Some of the countries on the green list defy credulity. Makes you wonder if inclusion in the list is based on the countries' own reported case numbers. So, if a country's testing and reporting are non-existent, they get a pass onto the green list. The only other explanation for some of the African countries (where vaccination rates are very low) might be that covid seems to hit colder climate countries more severely.

And who from those countries can either afford to fly to the Philippines, stay in hotels etc? Mostly are poor countries or like in the Falklands far to far away to even warrant a worry about LOL.

But as many of these places remain high risk Covid (and low vax rates) and are not allowed to enter parts of Europe etc then we could easily see a spike in cases in the Philippines if crowds of Algerians, Samoans, etc flood the country looking for a fun time LOL.

[SpirouleGroom]

Some of the countries on the green list defy credulity. Makes you wonder if inclusion in the list is based on the countries' own reported case numbers. So, if a country's testing and reporting are non-existent, they get a pass onto the green list. The only other explanation for some of the African countries (where vaccination rates are very low) might be that covid seems to hit colder climate countries more severely.

God. You are still attempting to find any logic in those political 'decisions' ?

Let's explore the wonderful new world order of back to normal shall we?

Japan: Pfizered can get in. If they go through a quarantine of 10 days instead of 14 days + PCR test twice. Guess they don't really trust the Pfizer inoculation.

Colombia: no vaccine required and no PCR test. Guess they don't give a shit anymore.

Argentina and Uruguay: only fully vaccined can get in in November. Guess the virus can't go through the border from Colombia.

Europe: the big chunk of full logic. J&J and Zeneca almost non existent. Sputnik still banned. North European countries just walked away from Moderna. But the European drug agency (where they take orders directly from Pfizer headquarters) stated that the third dose of Pfizer is recommended. But Moderna is an ARN messager like Pfizer.

Africa continent? Saved by the weather. I don't know. I remember numerous apocalyptic scenarios from the medias 6 month ago. Oh, they have been on hcq for decades, this horrific mainstream cheap medicine that can kill you. Guess there is no correlation. ABC news was wondering how Japan have managed to end the epidemic in a matter of weeks since September while the government green lighted again ivermectin in Sept. After having banned it under labs pressure.

Bottom line, nothing makes any sense. Considering the Philippines was a chaotic state before Covid let's assume that it's a very far fetch expectation that things would come back to normal in the next decade.

I'm not starting a vaccine debate. Just looking at the absurdity of it all.

[Stykler]

Some of the countries on the green list defy credulity. Makes you wonder if inclusion in the list is based on the countries' own reported case numbers. So, if a country's testing and reporting are non-existent, they get a pass onto the green list. The only other explanation for some of the African countries (where vaccination rates are very low) might be that covid seems to hit colder climate countries more severely.

I suspect that some countries on the Green List have supplied some of the green stuff to a number of officials to be honest. It's the only way they could be on it.