Health Secretary Francisco Duque III on Thursday disclosed that he had gone into self-quarantine while awaiting test results to determine if he had contracted the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Duque, 63, said he took the test while remaining asymptomatic. The results are expected in three to four days.
He said he came into contact with a director at the Department of Health (DOH) who later tested positive for the virus.
According to the DOH, the director, who is in his 50s, is being monitored and his condition is improving.
Duque said his office had been disinfected while his close contacts had been advised to also go into home quarantine.
Work from home
“I just want to make the necessary precautions. I’m on quarantine following our protocol and because I’m also watching over my asthma and hypertension,” Duque said in a radio interview.
“I’ll be working from home for now, for 14 days,’’ he said. “I will continue to give orders to my entire DOH, which connects to the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases.” Asked if President Rodrigo Duterte and other officials he came in contact with also need to go on quarantine, Duque said he did not see the need at this time.
“I have yet to see my results and besides, we have actually been observing social distancing, unlike with the DOH director whom I had a close contact with as we talked,” he said.
Duterte under supervision
According to Sen. Bong Go, Mr. Duterte will continue to work even if he saw Duque in a meeting on Monday “but will be monitored by a doctor.”“We will continue to work,” the senator said in a message to reporters when asked if he and other senators would also undergo self-quarantine since they also met with the health chief recently.
Mr. Duterte and Go underwent testing for the coronavirus shortly after the President’s March 12 announcement that placed Metro Manila under “community quarantine.”Both officials tested negative. —REPORTS FROM TINA G. SANTOS AND LEILA B. SALAVERRIA