Right after President Duterte said,“Perhaps our number one problem today is COVID,” on July 21 (it’s only been like, what, four months after we first went on lockdown?), we’ve got another spicy and totally-not-infuriating political soundbite, this time courtesy of presidential spokesperson Harry Roque.
Speaking about the total recorded cases of COVID-19 in the country, which is now at 70,764, on July 22, Roque said, “I wouldn’t really say it’s something alarming but it should concern all of us.”
Roque stated this in an interview with CNN Philippines, where he also noted the possibility of Metro Manila going straight back to a stricter lockdown if the number of cases reach 85,000 by the end of the month as predicted by experts from University of the Philippines.
“That’s a distinct possibility, although it’s a possibility that I wish would not happen because we all know that while we have to contain the disease, we also need to re-start our livelihoods ‘no,” he said, adding, “We’ve come to a very crucial point where I think the economy can no longer afford to be shut down anew. But if we have to and there’s no alternative, we need to do it.”
“A reversion to MECQ (modified enhanced community quarantine) or a more stringent quarantine is possible. I hope it will not happen though,” Roque said.
Photo by Joan Bondoc courtesy of Inquirer.net
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