HEADS UP: No MGCQ for Now, Auring Aftermath (Feb. 23)

Here's a Heads Up from Reportr.World on news that you need to know today, Feb. 23:

• We are monitoring the aftermath of Tropical Depression Auring (Dujuan), which flooded large parts of Caraga Region. The first cyclone of 2021 drenched the Central Philippines yesterday, raising the danger of more floods.
• Auring weakened into a low pressure area by late yesterday as it moved towards Bicol and Southern Luzon, the threat of rains continues until today, PAGASA said.
• Auring highlights the need for the Philippines to declare a "climate emergency" and stop the vicious cycle of destruction, Greenpeace said.
• Thirty-five years since People Power 1, we examine how hashtags have become Gen Z's tool for protest.
• China's Sinovac vaccine for COVID-19 can be used in the Philippines for emergency purposes, according to the FDA.
• Without a vaccine rollout, President Rodrigo Duterte rejected a proposal to pilot test face-to-face classes, Malacanang said.
• Cebu Province is removing COVID-19 tests as a requirement for tourists, to give its resorts and hotels a boost. It's a first in the Philippines since quarantines started.
• Baguio City has shortened the curfew and liquor ban hours as it prepares for looser quarantines.
• The Coast Guard is monitoring seaports on the path of Auring for stranded passengers and vessels seeking shelter from rough seas.
• The MRT-7 is halfway done and will be operational by December 2022, according to its builder, San Miguel Corp.
• What's it like to investigate the origins of SARS-CoV-2 in Wuhan, China? Here's a first-person account from an Australian doctor in the WHO mission. 
• The tech-driven new normal office with its face scanners and activity logs poses a risk to your privacy, analysts said.
• Australia has started its mass vaccination program for COVID-19 as it seeks to keep local transmissions at zero.

Here's an update on COVID-19 cases as of 4 p.m. of Feb. 22: