16th March, 2020
Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri a senator in the Philippines confirmed today that he has tested positive for COVID-19. He is the Senate Majority Leader.
The test results were relayed to him by Health Secretary Francisco Duque, reported inquirer.net.
He was found to be asymptomatic, meaning that he has yet to show any symptoms of the disease like dry cough, fever and shortness of breath.
In a message to reporters, Zubiri said: “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.”
“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. My decision to self-quarantine last Wednesday evening after session was the best decision I made and could have protected my Family from contamination,” he added.
Zubiri is one of the government officials who went into self-quarantine after possible exposure from COVID-19, as one of the Senate’s resource persons was confirmed to be positive for the disease.
As at Monday, there are 140 COVID-19 patients in the Philippines , 12 of whom have died. All over the world, 168,000 individuals have tested positive for COVID-19, with at least 6,506 dead.