MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang has called for a “national week of prayer” in the fourth week of March as the country continues with efforts to contain the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) threat.
President Rodrigo Duterte signed Proclamation no. 34, which urged Filipinos of various religious backgrounds to “unite our hearts in prayer as we face the COVID-19 threat.”
Prayers are sought to help patients infected with the coronavirus, for those who have lost loved ones and to protect all from the disease.
The proclamation also appealed to include frontliners such as medical professionals and health workers; military and law enforcement officers; and government officials and personnel in prayers.
“Through prayer, let us, as one nation, find the strength to defeat this invisible enemy, with the aid and blessing of God,” it said.
The issuance comes after Duterte on Monday, March 16 placed the Philippines under a state of calamity for six months through Proclamation 929. The entire Luzon was also put on an “enhanced community quarantine” on the same day.
The country has 380 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of writing.
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