Duterte says new face mask supplies coming in
Published Feb 3, 2020 12:00 am
By Genalyn Kabiling
The government will purchase more face masks to meet the growing demand for the protective item amid the threat posed by the new coronavirus, President Duterte announced Monday night.
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte
(SIMEON CELI JR./PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN) The President said mask supplies have become scarce due to the global outbreak of the virus but assured the Filipino nation that supplies will be forthcoming. “Yes, we are procuring and we have supplies coming in. The supply is depleted because there is an emergency and there is a need for it so everybody is buying,” he said in a press conference at the Palace after a top-level meeting on efforts to contain the latest public health emergency. “That’s the reason why there is a scarce supply in the market. Without the virus, the masks are not being sold by the thousands. Eh may virus eh. Ang virus nagpamahal niyan (There's a virus. It is the virus that led to the rise in prices),” he added. Asked to elaborate on the acquisition of face masks, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the government could make available two million face masks per month. Lopez, in a text message to the Manila Bulletin, said one million would be allocated for the Department of Health and public health workers, while another million will be made available for retailers to buy from the lone local supplier. The President, in his remarks Monday, assured the nation that the government is taking action to address the shortage of masks in the market. "If you will ask if government is doing something to buy more, to protect more, yes we are doing it. We are not just sitting down here. That's why we called for this conference and we have resources coming in," he said. "We don't want to give you the expectations because that's something which cannot be delivered almost all on time and you know sometimes when we announce it, it is taken differently in a different light." Early in his remarks, the President said there was nothing to be “extra scared” or hysterical about the coronavirus threat. He said “everything is well” in the country as there are only two confirmed cases of the virus so far. The Philippines recently reported that a patient who tested positive for the virus died over the weekend. It is considered the first death outside Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak. Concerns about the coronavirus have prompted many people to buy and wear masks to protect themselves from getting infected, despite the health department’s advisory that they should only be used if needed. Authorities earlier said masks are recommended for people with respiratory illnesses as well as health workers. The wearing of masks has not yet been recommended to the general public because there still is no local transmission of the virus.
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte(SIMEON CELI JR./PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN) The President said mask supplies have become scarce due to the global outbreak of the virus but assured the Filipino nation that supplies will be forthcoming. “Yes, we are procuring and we have supplies coming in. The supply is depleted because there is an emergency and there is a need for it so everybody is buying,” he said in a press conference at the Palace after a top-level meeting on efforts to contain the latest public health emergency. “That’s the reason why there is a scarce supply in the market. Without the virus, the masks are not being sold by the thousands. Eh may virus eh. Ang virus nagpamahal niyan (There's a virus. It is the virus that led to the rise in prices),” he added. Asked to elaborate on the acquisition of face masks, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the government could make available two million face masks per month. Lopez, in a text message to the Manila Bulletin, said one million would be allocated for the Department of Health and public health workers, while another million will be made available for retailers to buy from the lone local supplier. The President, in his remarks Monday, assured the nation that the government is taking action to address the shortage of masks in the market. "If you will ask if government is doing something to buy more, to protect more, yes we are doing it. We are not just sitting down here. That's why we called for this conference and we have resources coming in," he said. "We don't want to give you the expectations because that's something which cannot be delivered almost all on time and you know sometimes when we announce it, it is taken differently in a different light." Early in his remarks, the President said there was nothing to be “extra scared” or hysterical about the coronavirus threat. He said “everything is well” in the country as there are only two confirmed cases of the virus so far. The Philippines recently reported that a patient who tested positive for the virus died over the weekend. It is considered the first death outside Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak. Concerns about the coronavirus have prompted many people to buy and wear masks to protect themselves from getting infected, despite the health department’s advisory that they should only be used if needed. Authorities earlier said masks are recommended for people with respiratory illnesses as well as health workers. The wearing of masks has not yet been recommended to the general public because there still is no local transmission of the virus.