BREAKING: Duterte to address the public Monday — Panelo

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte will address the public on Monday, two weeks since he placed the entire island of Luzon under quarantine to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

President Duterte to address the public on Monday "tentatively at 4:00pm," Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo says. @inquirerdotnet

— Darryl John Esguerra (@drrylesguerra) March 30, 2020

“He will have a televised message today tentatively set at 4:00 pm,” presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo told reporters in a text message.

To date, the Philippines reported 1,418 cases of COVID-19, 71 of whom have died while 42 recovered.

The spike in cases, according to the Department of Health and Malacañang, is due to the arrival of additional test kits.

Duterte placed the entire Luzon under a month-long quarantine on March 16, forcing about half of the country’s population to observe strict home quarantine. His directive comes just two days after a botched attempt to restrict the movement of people living and working in Metro Manila.

The lockdown is the government’s response to health experts’ estimate that COVID-19 infection may reach 75,000 in the Philippines in three months if the virus is not contained.

The respiratory disease— first detected in Hubei, China late last year—has so far infected over 720,000 worldwide, nearly 34,000 of whom have died. Meanwhile, almost 152,000 patients were able to recover.

EDV