MANILA, Philippines — Two more employees of the House of Representatives have contracted the coronavirus disease 2019, bringing to 33 the total number of cases in the institution.
House Secretary-General Jose Luis Montales on Tuesday said one of the new cases is a member of the security staff who helped secure the plenary hall on July 21 and 23, before President Rodrigo Duterte’s fifth State of the Nation Address (Sona).
The employee got a positive result in a rapid antibody test on July 27, which was part of the Sona screening protocol.
The second new case is assigned at the Administrative Department who last reported for work on July 15 and 16, Montales said.
On July 29, the said employee consulted with the House Medical and Dental Services and she got tested on August 1 after experiencing dryness and discomfort in her throat.
Montales assured that contact tracing is already being conducted.
As of August 3, there are 106,330 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country, with 2,104 deaths and 65,821 recoveries.