MANILA, Philippines — Two more employees of the House of Representatives have contracted the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), bringing the total number of infected to 31.
In a statement on Sunday, House Secretary-General Jose Luis Montales said a staffer from the Human Resources Management Service tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 last July 31 after experiencing “cough, colds, fever, and loss of smell and taste.”
The employee reported for work last July 22 and July 23, Montales said.
The second newly-reported case is that of an employee assigned to the House Engineering Department who yielded positive results during a rapid antibody test as part of health protocols for the fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA).
Montales said the employee’s swab test was positive for COVID-19.
The latest COVID-19 cases came after House Deputy Speaker Mujiv Hataman and two staffers of House Speaker Alan Cayetano also tested positive for the new virus.