Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri announced Monday that he tested positive for COVID-19 despite following social distancing and no handshake policy.
Zubiri announced the sad news on his Facebook page, saying that the Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Duque is the one who called him to inform that he’s now one of the hundreds of Filipinos who contracted the virus.
However, he told his followers that he’s not showing any COVID-19 symptoms which is a good news.
“To my dear fellow Filipinos, my Kababayans. It is with sadness that I announce that I am positive for Covid 19. I had a test taken last Friday while on self-quarantine and this afternoon I received a call from Sec. Duque on my condition,” Zubiri said.
“My heart sank with what he had said but I’m uplifted with the fact that I am asymptomatic and have no fever or cough nor am I weak or have any headaches,” he added.
The Senator also said that he still got the virus despite following the social distancing other ways that could prevent him from contracting the virus.
“As one of those very early on in the Senate who espoused and advocated for stronger Government response on controlling Covid 19, I was very careful in my dealings with people at work in the Senate. I practiced social distancing, as well as a no handshake policy but yet I, got contaminated. How I do not know. This just goes to show how easily this virus is spread and therefore it is best for everyone to stay home and stay clean,” he said.
Zubiri said that he’s going to isolate himself for 10 days before taking another test.
He also urged the people to follow the government and avoid going outside of their homes.
“As for me I will stay locked in isolation for 10 more days until I get checked once again with hopefully a negative result. I hope my coming out will show how dangerously infectious this virus is. Sa aking mga Kababayans, makinig po tayo sa mga babala nang Gobyerno at wag na po kayo lumabas sa inyong mga tahanan. God bless us all,”
Zubiri is the highest government official who became positive with COVID-19.
He’s one of the Senators who took the ‘precautionary’ quarantine on March 12 after a resource person who entered the senate premises tested positive for COVID-19.