Senate Majority Leader Migz Zubiri (Screen grab/Senate PRIB file)
MANILA, Philippines — Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri on Monday tested positive for the coronavirus after he recovered from the disease in April.
Zubiri earlier withdrew from physically attending President Rodrigo Duterte’s penultimate State of the Nation Address (Sona) at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City.
“To allay the rumors on why I was not able to attend the Sona presentation in the Batasan is because even after 3 rapid tests that showed that I was negative for COVID-19 but possessing antibodies with positive IGg. My swab test however showed that I was positive once more for [coronavirus],” Zubiri told reporters in a message.
The senator took the swab test earlier today as a requirement for Duterte’s Sona at Batasang Pambansa.
“According to doctors, it is possible that the test detected remnants of the dead virus cells in my body as I am a [COVID-19] survivor,” he said.
“I decided to forgo any other appointments and head back to my isolation room for quarantine,” Zubiri added.