In a press conference on Monday, President Rodrigo Duterte rejected the proposal regarding Metro Manila lockdown despite a rise in cases of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the Philippines.
Duterte said that the National Capital Region (NCR) will not be under lockdown just yet.
“We haven’t reached that kind of contamination. There will be a time I suppose, I hope not. I hope God will have mercy on the Filipino people. It is too early for that.” he said.
“Hindi ko sinasabi na hihintayin mo magkasakit lahat. (Rough translation: I’m not saying that you should wait for everyone to get sick.) It’s not that, but you have to balance.”
Additionally, the president said on the same press conference that there are four additional cases, which brought up the total confirmed cases of COVID-19 to 24. The four additional cases are from West Crame, San Juan, Sta. Maria, Bulacan, and Project 6, Quezon City.
He also suspended the classes in all levels in Metro Manila from March 10 to 14.
Earlier Monday, House Ways and Means Committee chairman Jose Ma. Salceda proposed to put NCR on lockdown since most of the cases are in NCR. He said that preventing entry and exit in Metro Manila for at least a week will minimize the risk of mass transmission of the virus.
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