The tough-talking president again blasted critics in televised remarks late Monday night for accusing his administration of not doing enough to contain the outbreaks.
“What do you would like ‘enough’?” There are hospitals, beds and funeral homes. Everything is there,” Duterte said, singling out Vice President Leni Robredo, who heads the opposition.
“You know, Leni, if you want, if you really want to get rid of Covid, let’s spray the Philippines or Manila with pesticides to kill everyone… The only thing we can really do is wear a mask, wear a face mask and that’s it, and wait for the vaccine.” .
The state of natural disaster in force until September 2021 will mainly serve to quickly collect emergency funds anywhere within the country. In such a critical situation, officials may also control the costs of basic commodities comparable to rice and cooking oil.
Quarantine restrictions comparable to social distancing remain unchanged.
The procurement and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines within the Philippines will only be possible from the second quarter of 2021 as a consequence of delays in screening potential candidates.
This is a “practical and realistic timeline” since the vaccines will undergo registration after which clinical trials over several months, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said at a virtual briefing, adding that the country’s Food and Drug Administration would speed up the approval process by two weeks.
Duterte, nonetheless, said the vaccine can be available by December and the nation can be “higher” by January.
“We will survive and we are just waiting for the vaccine,” Duterte said. “If a vaccine is not available and effective, only then can we truly say we are moving.”
The government is waiting to judge data from Russia’s Sputnik V clinical trial, while a trial of potential Covid-19 treatment Avigan, which was scheduled to start out on August 17, can be awaiting approval.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
