MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte took the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) test on Thursday afternoon after some members of his Cabinet subjected themselves in self-quarantine due to exposure to a COVID-19 patient.
LOOK: President Duterte and Senator Bong Go undergo COVID-19 test. (📸 Sen. Go) @inquirerdotnet pic.twitter.com/UrF1FXuc9l
— Darryl John Esguerra (@drrylesguerra) March 12, 2020
Duterte’s former aide and now Senator Bong Go also took the test.
According to Go, personnel from the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine oversaw the testing procedure around 5 p.m. at Bahay Pagbabago in Malacañang.
In a statement earlier, Go explained that they took the COVID-19 test to ensure that they are “fit and healthy” to engage the public and perform their duties.
“Considering that some Cabinet members we engage with regularly have been exposed to individuals who were tested positive for COVID-19 and have decided to undergo self-quarantine, it is just prudent for us to take precautionary measures in compliance with the advice of our health officials,” Go said.
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, Public Works Secretary Mark Villar, and Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea separately announced earlier that they will undergo the proposed 14-day isolation after they interacted with a person who tested positive for COVID-19 during the March 5 toll road inspection event in Caloocan City.
According to Duterte’s spokesman Salvador Panelo, the President is not experiencing any flu-like symptoms as of Thursday morning.
To date, the Philippines has 52 confirmed cases of COVID-19, a respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus that first emerged in China’s city of Wuhan in Hubei province in late 2019.
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.
Quarantines and avoiding or restricting public interactions has been a primary method of trying to prevent the spread of the virus.
Philippine health officials have reported 49 cases of infections and two people, a Chinese and a Filipino, have died.
The illness causes mild to moderate symptoms in most people but can be severe in the elderly and people with other health problems.
The 74-year-old Duterte, who skipped work due to illness a number of times last year, postponed a trip to Boracay Island on Thursday due to concerns over COVID-19, Panelo said.
He had planned to travel to the famed beach resort to promote domestic tourism amid a slump in arrivals of foreign tourists because of the pandemic.
