(Eagle News)–President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday, May 22, said the end of the COVID-19 crisis appeared to be “months and months away still.”
The President made the statement during his speech as keynote speaker of the graduating classes of the Philippine Military Academy and the Philippine National Police Academy via teleconferencing from Malacañang, as he urged Filipinos to exhibit certain traits for their sake.
“Patience, perseverance and resiliency are the crying need of the moment,” he said.
In the meantime, he said “we can take measures to alleviate or mitigate the hardships wrought upon us and raise our hopes that sooner or later the cure [that] will set us free from COVID-19 shall be made available to all of us.”
“I trust that every Filipino has (these traits) in his person and virtues abundant,” he said.
Earlier, the President said a vaccine could be made available early next year.
He said American firm Moderna, reported “positive interim” results in its first clinical tests, while Chinese researchers were also reporting positive developments.
The President also offered a reward of at least P50 million to any Filipino who could create a vaccine against the virus that has infected over 13000 in the country so far.
