(Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte said that China’s President Xi Jinping has offered to help the Philippines fight the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) with the knowledge that China had learned in controlling its spread and in treating patients infected with the virus.
Duterte thanked President Xi and said that the Philippines might just accept this offer for help if the situation in the country regarding coronavirus cases deteriorates.
“But China, you know, President Xi Jinping, for all of his goodness to us, wrote me a letter and said that he is willing to help. All we have to do is to ask,” the President said during his press briefing late Thursday night, March 12, announcing the new measures being implemented by the Philippine government to address the COVID-19 spread.
“Ako, ang tingin ko, maybe there will be a time if things deteriorate, that I have to call on China to help,” Duterte said.
-Drop in COVID-19 cases in China prompts closure of makeshift hospitals-
China is seeing a drop in infections since the start of the week as coronavirus cases soared in other countries.
China has even closed most of the makeshift hospitals opened to receive coronavirus patients in the epidemic’s epicentre as the number of new infections in the country hit a record low on Monday, March 9.
On Monday, there were 40 new cases nationwide, according to China’s National Health Commission, which is the lowest number of fresh cases since it started reporting the data in January.
Most of the new cases, as well as 22 new deaths, were in Hubei, the central province at the epicentre of the outbreak.
The deaths reported on Monday were all in Hubei except one.
As of Friday, March 13, there were close to 81,000 reported coronavirus cases in mainland China since it was first noted in January.
Patients who recovered from the infection reached 64,195.
-President Duterte thanks President Xi for his offer to help PHL-
President Duterte said that China’s President Xi had told him that China had managed the crisis “very well.”
“He has said that they have managed the crisis very well in his country and he is very much willing to help kung kailangan,” Duterte said.
“So to the Chinese government, to the people especially to President Xi Jinping, thank you for the consoling words. And maybe — I hope it would not reach to that point — but maybe we will need your help. Salamat po,” he added.
(with a report from Agence France Presse)
