The Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD), the University of Trieste (UNITS) and Fondazione Italiana Fegato (FIF) enter into an Agreement to develop and implement of a program focused on molecular hepatology within the PhD Program in Molecular Biomedicine of UNITS. This Fellowship program integrates basic research and clinics focusing on the study of molecular approaches to cancer biology, genetics, jaundice and metabolic diseases. The duration of the program is for 3 years.

The Department of Health – Eastern Visayas Center for Health reports today additional one (1) new confirmed case of COVID-19 in Eastern Visayas. This bring the total of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Region to two (2). The second confirmed case was part of the second batch of 22 sample sent to Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center for COVID-19 testing.

TACLOBAN CITY (Ramil Uy, DOST) – It seems like Region 8's State Colleges and Universities (SUCs) joined the bandwagon of institutions confronting the deadly kiss of COVID-19. These universities have their own ways to be a significant part of the increasing fighters against the invisible enemies; some done relief operations, production of sanitizers and distributed it to front liners, face masks, plastic face shields, etc. But Eastern Visayas State University (EVSU) in Tacloban City, through the leadership of President Dominador O. Aguirre, Jr., came up with ExCITE Drink. Using the DOST 8 - EVSU Eastern Visayas Food Innovation Center (EV-FIC), a group of the university's Food Technologists developed a drink that will boost human energy they called ExCITE Drink.

Today the laboratory results of the second Patient Under Investigation (PUI) in Eastern Visayas arrived and tested negative for the 2019 nCoV ARD. The PUI is a 30 year old female from Leyte with history of travel to Hongkong and Macau and went back to Leyte on January 21, 2020. She has been isolated and admitted for five (5) days in DOH referral hospital before the results came in and now she is for discharged. On the other hand, the Department of Health Eastern Visayas monitored and isolated three (3) more Patient Under Investigation in the referral hospital. Overall, a total of seven (PUI) are now recorded in Eastern Visayas, of which one was discharged on February 1, 2020, one for discharged today and 5 are still isolated and accordingly managed.