Coronavirus: ‘no end in sight’ for Philippines lockdown, Duterte says

Without a vaccine, antibody treatment or effective medicine to treat Covid-19, the country may need to endure two to three waves of infection

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte made the prediction in a late-night televised address that went on until the early hours of the morning

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A resident of Manila walks past a lockdown sign on April 7. Photo: EPA

Published: 12:30pm, 14 Apr 2020Updated: 11:13pm, 14 Apr 2020

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has said a lockdown on the country’s most populous island would not be totally lifted until a vaccine, antibody treatment or medicine for the novel coronavirus becomes available.

Duterte said Filipinos might need to endure two to three waves of the epidemic before the government would lift the lockdown, which has entered its fifth week.

“There's no end in sight,” he said in a late-night televised address that went on until the early hours of Tuesday. “When will this end, we have no clue yet. And our numbers are increasing … At this time, we need to treat the sick, we need to feed our people.”

On Monday, the Department of Health reported 284 new confirmed cases of the new coronavirus in the Philippines, bringing the total number of infections to 4,932.

There were 18 additional fatalities, pushing the death toll to 315, while 242 patients have recovered.