MANILA, Philippines — Seven senators were tested Tuesday for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Senate President Vicente Sotto III said.
Sotto said those tested were him, Sens. Pia Cayetano, Grace Poe, Imee Marcos, Ramon Revilla Jr., Francis Tolentino, and Ping Lacson.
“Some [senators] have had [tests] na (already) before today,” Sotto said in a text message.
On Monday night, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri confirmed that he tested positive for the virus. He is currently on self-quarantine.
Zubiri said 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.
My decision to self-quarantine last Wednesday evening after the session was the best decision I made and could have protected my Family from contamination,” Zubiri said.
Aside from Zubiri, several senators are also on self-quarantine including Lacson, Revilla, Marcos, Tolentino, Francis Pangilinan, Sonny Angara, Nancy Binay, and Lito Lapid.
COVID-19 is a respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus that first emerged in China’s city of Wuhan in Hubei province in late 2019.
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.