By J. Jala | 02:02 PM March 09, 2020
President Rodrigo Duterte has placed the Philippines under a state of public health emergency to arrest the spread of coronavirus infections, after authorities confirmed local transmissions of the disease.
“The outbreak of COVID-19 constitutes an emergency that threatens national security which requires a whole-of-government response…” Duterte said in Proclamation No. 922 signed on Sunday, March 8, and released to media on Monday.
The declaration shall remain in effect until the President lifts or withdraws it.
Duterte ordered all government agencies and local government units to cooperate and mobilize necessary resources to combat the coronavirus.
Duterte’s declaration was based on the recommendation of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, who earlier raised the Philippines’ coronavirus alert system to Code Red-Sublevel 1, due to the first case of local transmission.
Over the weekend, health authorities confirmed 7 cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 10.
COVID-19 has killed 3,792 people while infecting more than 109,000 in 104 countries worldwide.
