MANILA: Vice President Leni Robredo said President Rodrigo Duterte himself must address the nation to help allay fears over the 2019 novel coronavirus, following the second confirmed case in the country and the first recorded death outside of mainland China. “This is a welcome development, but we only hope that it was done sooner, ” Robredo said. Without that, there will always be doubts and fears because we do not know how the government is responding, ” she added. Robredo also appealed to Filipinos to respect Chinese nationals amid the outbreak, saying that they, too, are victims of the virus. On Friday, the hashtag “OustDuterte” was among the top trends on Twitter, with social media users demanding to know Duterte’s whereabouts in the height of the growing public concern.

Source: The Star February 04, 2020 00:56 UTC