MANILA, Philippines — Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri on Thursday called for another lockdown of the Senate for disinfection after four more senatorial staff members tested positive for the new coronavirus last week.
Speaking with reporters in an online interview, Zubiri said a member of his staff was among the four employees who contracted the disease and is now in isolation.
The three others who tested positive for the coronavirus are staffers of two other senators, according to Zubiri.
“They were all working in the Senate as [part of the] skeletal force so mukhang hindi pa nafu-fully sanitized yung Senado. I think we have asked the Senate President last Monday to do a lockdown again to sanitize the area dahil sa nangyari po sa aming staff,” he added.
(They were all working in the Senate as [part of the] skeletal force so it seems that the Senate building has yet to be fully sanitized. I think we have asked the Senate President last Monday to do a lockdown again to sanitize the area because of what happened to our staff).
Zubiri said the Senate building in Pasay City should be closed and disinfected and more stringent quarantine protocols should be implemented after.
“Sa dami pong natamaan ng COVID-19 na nagtatrabaho sa Senado, talagang dapat mag-shutdown muna ang Senado disinfect muna lahat and go back to stricter quarantine protocols,” he said.
(With the number of COVID-19 cases among Senate employees, I think we should shut down the Senate for disinfection and then go back to stricter quarantine protocols.
But Senate President Vicente Sotto III said the Senate cannot afford a complete lockdown.
“It’s [Senate Secretary] Myra [Villarica’s] call. But as I said before, we cannot have a total lockdown because the payroll of all employees cannot be done by the authorities at home or elsewhere,” Sotto told reporters in a Viber message.
“Semi-lockdown only possible otherwise maraming magugutom,” he added.
(Semi-lockdown only possible otherwise many will go hungry).
In late June, the Senate building was placed under “semi-lockdown” after two employees contracted COVID-19.
In total, 20 Senate staff members have so far been infected by the coronavirus, majority of whom have already recovered.