Coronavirus has difficulty in hot weather, Duterte claims

Cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the Philippines are relatively low because the virus has a “hard time” surviving in high temperatures, President Rodrigo Duterte claimed on Monday.

“Come to think of it really, mababa ang ano (cases) natin,” Duterte said in a televised address.

“They said that itong coronang ito has a hard time surviving in a high temperature. So pagka gano’n, maybe that explains the reason why na hindi naman masyadong marami,” he added.

The Department of Health (DOH) has recorded 9,485 cases with 1,315 recoveries and 623 deaths as of Monday afternoon. 

The Philippines has the third-highest number of COVID-19 cases across Southeast Asia, trailing behind Singapore and Indonesia which have reported over 18,000 and 11,000 infections, respectively, as of Monday.

The DOH has previously said that there is no sufficient evidence yet proving that the weather affects COVID-19 transmission. 

"Sa ngayon po wala tayong ginagamit na ganiyang pamantayan," Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire explained.

Meanwhile, Duterte repeatedly urged the public to wear face masks when leaving their homes.

“Wear a mask because if not, kung magsabay-sabay, then we will have an overload… So just cooperate kasi wala naman kaming hangarin dito na pahirapan kayo,” he said.

“We are trying to figure out how we can ease up the miseries that have been imposed on us,” Duterte added. —LDF, GMA News