A Filipina American detective of the Santa Rosa Police Department, who became California’s first line-of-duty death related to the novel coronavirus, was honored with a procession of patrol cars through the North Bay on Friday, April 3. Marylou Armer, 43, was a 20-year veteran of the department and succumbed to the illness on Tuesday, March…
By Harold Clavite/Contributor AT the end of a long work shift, Filipino nurse Jiggz Tabuclin would make it home in time to put his daughter to bed. But amid the coronavirus outbreak, this is no longer the case. Tabuclin instead parks his minivan outside of the house, then prepares a makeshift bed out of a sleeping…
Medical experts urge lawmakers to practice treatment equity, call for more tests to be administered to lower-income areas ONE month ago, lawmakers across the United States, including President Donald Trump, questioned the veracity and severity of the novel coronavirus within the U.S. despite warnings from the medical community. Back then, there were only a handful…
Jersey City, the city with the most diverse population in New Jersey, has more positive coronavirus cases than any other town or city in the state. The city now has 820 confirmed COVID-19 cases and six fatalities, including a DPW worker who was a part-time hospital security guard according to Mayor Steven Fulop. In a series…
The coronavirus that has caused a worldwide pandemic has killed more than 3,400 and infected more than 213,000 people in the United States, according to Johns Hopkins University, both figures surpassing those reported by China. Some people who were tested positive have begun their way to full recovery. After 17 days in the hospital, including…
FILIPINO American chef Rodelio Aglibot died over the weekend of an apparent heart attack and tributes and testimonials continue to pour. He was a man who wore many hats: as a chef, restaurateur, TV host and personality, entrepreneur and food consultant. “Our hearts are broken. We learned yesterday that my big brother, favorite chef, best…
THE Department of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday, April 1, announced that there are a total of 401 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) among overseas Filipino workers. Of the number, 270 are currently undergoing treatment, 118 have recovered while 13 have died. According to the agency, the OFWs who contracted the disease are from…
THE Department of Science and Technology on Monday, March 30, announced that at least 120,000 locally-developed test kits for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) will be rolled out this week. According to the agency, its priority is the production of 26,000 test kits for field implementation and distribution to certain hospitals that can do the testing…
CALIFORNIA Senator Kamala Harris denounced the rise of anti-Asian violence and discrimination in the United States and called on more protections for vulnerable populations, including front-line workers. Harris, the first South Asian American senator, said she’s confronted members of the Trump administration on its usage of calling the coronavirus, the “Chinese Virus” or “Wuhan Virus,”…
WITH the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, along with “stay-at-home,” “shelter in place,” quarantines, travel bans, etc., there has been a profound effect on immigration. Here are some of the latest restrictions, limitations, and changes as of March 30, 2020. This is not an exhaustive list, and is subject to change literally on a daily…
A STEPPARENT may file an immigrant petition for a stepchild even without the stepparent having to legally adopt the stepchild. However, before a stepparent may be able to file an immigrant petition for a stepchild, the stepparent–stepchild relationship should have been created before a stepchild turns 18 years old. This means that the stepparent and…
IN any war, it is best to know one’s enemy well to have a better chance of survival. We must know all we can about our invisible adversary, SARS-CoV2 virus, the cause of the current COVID-19 pandemic, in order to defeat this virus. As of 7 a.m., Wednesday, April 1, it had infected almost a…
Experts warn of death toll could go up to 100,000-200,000 THE CORONAVIRUS pandemic the world is now fighting against is personal to me. My husband is a surgeon and is part of the pool of doctors called to assist in the care of coronavirus patients. My sister-in-law in Boston has just tested positive after taking…
Filipino American media professionals are paying tribute to veteran CBS News journalist and talent executive Maria Mercader who died over the weekend from the coronavirus. Born and raised in New York, Mercader, 54, spent over 30 years at CBS as a producer and most recently was a director of talent strategy. The Filipina American journalist…
As hospitals across Southern California run low on supplies for front-liners fighting the coronavirus outbreak, a Filipina American medical professional is using her connections to TV shows for donations to fill those needs. Mel Oliver, a cardiovascular perfusionist and emergency medical technician in Los Angeles, has helped secure boxes of masks, gloves and other gear from…
With Census Day on April 1, community organizations are reminding Filipino Americans across the country to fill out their questionnaire. April 1, 2020 is significant because respondents will answer based on where they are living on this day. By now, households should have received an invitation with instructions on how to participate in the decennial…
P200 billion will be allocated to low-income households affected by the enhanced community quarantine enforced in Luzon, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announced on Monday, March 30. The quarantine was implemented in mid-March to prevent the further spread of COVID-19 in the country, but has left a dent in the livelihoods of thousands of Filipino families….
California Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Monday, March 31 a new program to increase the number of medical workers to address the quickly growing coronavirus outbreak. Through an executive order, Newsom called upon those in the broad medical community, including retired professionals, to join the statewide fight against the COVID-19 virus by joining the staff…
A medical evacuation plane caught on fire during takeoff on Sunday, March 29 at Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), killing all the eight people on board. The incident took place at the end of Runway 24 while the aircraft was taking off at around 8 p.m., according to the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA)….
The Philippine Department of Health (DOH) on Sunday, March 29, condemned the acts of harassment and discrimination against health care workers amid the COVID-19 crisis. In the past few weeks, incidents of some health care professionals being victimized and subjected to acts of violence have been reported across the country. The DOH, in particular, denounced…
Philippine Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año announced on Tuesday, March 31 that he tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). “Today, March 31, I received the result from RITM (Research Institute for Tropical Medicine) informing me that I am positive for COVID-19,” he said in a statement. The DILG chief said…
“THIS CRISIS however, like everything else in the course of human history, SHALL COME TO PASS.” THIS coronavirus crisis seems to come out of nowhere but it didn’t. Like any story, it has a beginning, a peak and an end. And hopefully, there are no sequels to this grim story. It seems the animal to…
LET us face the reality of our situation: the pace and quality of our lives now and in the foreseeable future will be dictated by the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19. The virus respects no human title. The Crown Prince of England is infected and the British Prime Minister as well. Senators and Congressmen here…
THE COVID-19 Pandemic is a scary reality which affects everyone globally and has shut down the global economy. Individuals over 60 years old and individual that are immune compromised are more at risk of having serious complications with this virus. Individuals are dying all over the world in exponential numbers. Although we cannot completely control…
Former Philippine Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), his spokesperson confirmed Tuesday, March 31. Victor Rodriguez, Marcos’ lawyer, wrote in a Facebook post that the former senator is “improving” following the test. “Gumaganda na ang kondisyong pangkalusugan ni dating Senator Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. makaraang ihayag sa resulta ng…
The first-ever American TV series filmed entirely in the Philippines debuts on Monday, March 30 on WGN America. “Almost Paradise” is an action-thriller show created, written and produced by award-winning Filipino American filmmaker Dean Devlin. Known for his work on “Independence Day,” “Godzilla, “Leverage,” and “The Librarians,” this is Devlin’s first project involving his Filipino…
