Duterte to convene interagency task force anew on COVID-19 crisis

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte will meet Thursday afternoon key government and military officials amid the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis in the country.

According to Duterte’s former aide, Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, the President will meet officials of the Interagency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, his economic managers and military medical corps at at 4 p.m., but it is unclear yet if the President will make new pronouncements regarding the national health crisis.

The meeting will take place three days since Duterte placed the entire Luzon island under enhanced community quarantine to arrest the continuous spread of the virus, which has so far infected 202 people and killed 17 in the country.

The Luzon lockdown forced half of the country’s population to stay home while mass gatherings were banned and public transportations were suspended.

Duterte also declared a state of calamity in the entire Philippines for six months to allow local government units to access their calamity funds in battling COVID-19.

EDV

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