President Rodrigo Duterte holds a meeting with members of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) at the Malago Clubhouse in Malacañang on June 15, 2020. (Presidential photo)
MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte found it “heartening” to see the rise in recoveries among the number of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) patients in the country.
In a televised public briefing late Monday night, Duterte said the 6,252 recoveries as of Monday (June 15) was “a good record compared to other countries”.
Despite this development, he reminded the public that the threat against Covid-19 remains until a vaccine is developed.
“The battle sa (against) Covid is not over. Sabi ko nandiyan pa 'yung germ na ‘yan at hindi nawawala (I said the germ is still here, it has not disappeared),” he said.
He said he could not yet tell when the country could determine whether it is already experiencing a second wave in Covid-19 infection.
“I cannot say it’s [the] second wave because it is still increasing,” he said.
Duterte explained that the easing of quarantine restrictions in some parts of the country does not mean that the public should forget to observe minimum health standards.
He acknowledged that he could not prevent everyone from leaving their homes, especially if they had jobs.
However, he also appealed to the public not to blame the government for the continuous increase of Covid-19 cases.
“Ngayon kung lumabas talaga kayo (Now, if you go out), you run the risk of getting infected, ‘wag ninyo kaming sisihin (don’t blame us),” he said. “Do not forget that we warned you of the grave consequences.”
He urged the public to continue observing minimum health standards such as practicing physical distancing, wearing face masks, and frequent hand washing.
Meanwhile, he also vowed to “personally supervise” the distribution of a possible cure against Covid-19.
“There’s a pill, I hope it’s true na parang lalaban (that it can fight) and it can maybe sabi (they say) kill the…’yun ang maganda, pag 'yun ang dumating, 'pag available na, mag-order na ako, (that's good if it becomes available, I will order) and I will distribute it… I will personally supervise the distribution, ako mismo (me myself), I will supervise the distribution of whatever there is...to guarantee that everybody gets a fair share of the medicines and medical care,” he said.
On Monday (June 15), the country recorded its highest number of Covid-19 recoveries on a single day at 298, topping last June 12 record of 289 recoveries.
Meanwhile, there are a total of 26,420 Covid-19 cases in the country, of which 348 are fresh cases and 142 are late cases.
Ten more people died due to the disease bringing the total number of deaths to 1,098. (PNA)
