Philippines' Duterte Extends State Of Emergency Over COVID-19 For One Year

(@FahadShabbir)

Philippines' Duterte Extends State of Emergency Over COVID-19 for One Year

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte signed a decree on Friday that extends the state of emergency over the spread of COVID-19 for one year

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th September, 2021) Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte signed a decree on Friday that extends the state of emergency over the spread of COVID-19 for one year.

"I, Rodrigo Roa Duterte, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers invested in me by the Constitution and existing laws, do hereby further extend the declared State of Calamity throughout the Philippines for a period of one (1) year," the presidential decree read.

All government agencies and their local offices must continue to provide full assistance and cooperation, as well as mobilizing necessary resources for undertaking critical and urgent measures, to eliminate the threat of COVID-19, the decree added.

The state of emergency will allow the central and regional authorities to vaccinate the population, control prices of essential food products and goods, and other measures.

The Philippines introduced the state of emergency for the first time in March 2020 and then repeatedly prolonged it. The current decision was made in view of the increasing number of people infected with COVID-19 and deaths caused by the disease despite all measures taken to contain the spread.

Since July, the country has been witnessing an unprecedented spike in cases, with numbers hitting records daily. Overall, the Philippines has so far reported over 2.16 million COVID-19 cases and more than 34,700 deaths caused by the disease.