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MANILA, Philippines — The Filipino people can only pray to God on what will happen amid the COVID-19 pandemic, President Rodrigo Duterte said Monday as he stressed it is impossible to predict when the new coronavirus would go away.
In his final State of the Nation Address, the President said the Philippines had emerged as “one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia” until the pandemic happened.
“I don’t know what’s the plan of God. There’s no way of telling when this virus would disappear or vanish from the earth,” Duterte said.
“We can only pray to God to look into our direction and decide on what will happen to this planet he created,” he added.
At the latter part of his speech, the President again mentioned praying, this time for “salvation,” should the new COVID-19 Delta variant require another vaccine.
“Delta, if ever it will spread, we have it here now, I hope it will not go any further. But if something wrong happens, I’ll have to be strict and I have now my word that it will be just like what happened in the early days,” Duterte said.
“If it requires a new vaccine, we do not have it yet, I don’t know what. Maybe, we will just have to pray for salvation,” he went on.
The Philippines has so far detected 119 cases of the Delta variant, said to be more transmissible.
Due to the threat of the Delta variant, the government has retightened protocols in Metro Manila and the provinces of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Davao de Oro, and Davao del Norte by placing it under general community quarantine “with heightened restrictions” until July 31.
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