Duterte on COVID-19 efforts:’ You cannot flog a dead horse’
CALOOCAN CITY, April 14 (PIA) — President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on late Monday evening used an idiomatic expression to mean that if every Filipino will not adhere to strict social distancing measures, the efforts invested by government to stem the COVID-19 health emergency crisis would be all put to waste.
“You cannot flog a dead horse. Pero di kayo kabayo. Sana maintindihan ninyo ang sitwasyon natin,” Duterte said, referring to an idiom that means a particular effort is a waste of time as there will be no outcome, and at the same time, reiterating the need for physical distancing to prevent successive wave of transmission of the highly infectious virus.
“There seems to be lack of uniformity in the matter of enforcing the distance rule, ‘yung social distancing,” the President said in a televised briefing multicast by the Presidential Communications Operations Office and its attached agencies.
“Alam mo ‘pag hindi natin ito isusunod, walang mangyayari. Wala talagang mangyayari,” Duterte warned.
In its 4 pm bulletin Monday, the Department of Health reported that 18 more patients have died from the coronavirus disease in the country, raising the death toll to at least 315. It also reported 284 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of people sickened with the viral illness to 4,932.
Meanwhile, 45 more people have been cured of coronavirus infection, for a total of 242 recoveries.
“Yung nasa ospital, ‘yung ginagamot ngayon, ‘yun yung first wave. May second wave ito. ‘Yung mga tao na kakahawa lang o noon sipon pa lang, tapos ginagamot na itong nauna, ‘yung iba namatay, ‘yung iba lumusot, ‘yung iba hindi pa masyado, ‘yan ang second wave. Kung naubos na ‘yan, mayroon pang third wave,” he explained.
“Habang namamatay ‘yung unang tinamaan, sa ospital, sa bahay, ‘yung iba na nahawa lang, bago lang, ‘yun yung sila ang second wave. Tapos ‘yung third wave ang panghuli, pero paliit na ‘yan,” he added.
Reports have reached Malacañang that shoppers of Balintawak market in Quezon City earlier violated physical isolation measures.
Duterte said the stringent measure of social distancing currently being implemented by the authorities will help flatten the curve of infections.
“Yan ang ibig sabihin kung bakit kayo i-maintain ninyo ang social distancing or the distant rule,” he said, adding that local government officials should not fool around and also strictly implement physical distancing in their areas of responsibility.
“Kayong mga mayors, huwag kayong maglaro. Kasi kung ayaw ninyo mag-social distancing, mapipilitan ako na puntahan kayo at arestuhin ka,” Duterte warned.
To recall, government has invested an initial P275 billion emergency fund for COVID-19 response under the Bayanihan to Heal as One Law. (PIA NCR)
source https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1038890