MANILA, Philippines — The Batasang Pambansa Complex will undergo thorough cleaning and disinfection starting Friday, March 13, until Sunday, March 15 as a measure against the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
House Secretary General Jose Luis Montales on Thursday said that at present, the House of Representatives remains COVID-19 free; however, the House premises will be disinfected to further protect those who frequent the complex.
“There are no confirmed cases. Neither are there Persons Under Investigation (PUI), nor Persons Under Monitoring (PUM),” he said in a statement.
“The health and safety of everyone in the House of Representatives continues to be our priority,” he added.
Several government offices, such as the Senate, have suspended work and closed their doors to make way for disinfection.
Some public officials have also opted to subject themselves under self-quarantine after possibly being exposed to a confirmed COVID-19 case.
READ: Gatchalian goes into self-quarantine after interacting with virus-positive resource person | Nancy Binay, too, to go into self-quarantine
To date, there are 49 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Philippines, with two deaths.
Classes in all levels in Metro Manila have also been suspended starting March 10 until March 14.
The Department of Health (DOH) earlier raised Code Red Sublevel 1 after it confirmed the country’s first local transmission of the disease.
The confirmed cases prompted President Rodrigo Duterte to sign a proclamation declaring a state of public health emergency.
READ: DOH reports first Filipino to die in PH from coronavirus
The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses named the novel coronavirus as SARS-CoV-2.
The virus causes mild symptoms such as fever and cough for most people but can cause serious illness such as pneumonia for others, especially older adults and people with existing health problems.
Coronavirus is a family of viruses, which surfaces have a crown-like appearance. The viruses are named for the spikes on their surfaces.
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