Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 27) — President Rodrigo Duterte wants the creation of a new government task force composed of medical experts who will focus on studying the new COVID-19 variant that was found in the United Kingdom. "The government should create another task force ideally of medical persons na nakatutok sa bagong [who are focused on the new] strain," he said during a meeting with the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases on Saturday. In the same meeting, Duterte approved the extension of the travel ban from the UK initially set until Jan. 1, for another two weeks. He also mulled the possibility of a lockdown if infections get out of hand, but the medical experts said it is not yet necessary. Duterte said the IATF and the medical experts should convene again on Dec. 28 and Jan. 3.

Source: CNN December 26, 2020 23:48 UTC