MANILA, Philippines — The mayor and vice mayor of San Mateo, Rizal both contracted the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
In a Facebook post on Thursday, San Mateo Vice Mayor Paeng Diaz said he and his wife, Mayor Tina Diaz, got tested last Tuesday, August 18, and both of them tested positive for the coronavirus.
He added that they re both experiencing mild symptoms.
“Ngayon pong araw na ito natanggap po namin ang resulta na ikinalulungkot po naming ibalita sa inyo na kapwa po kami ni Mayor Tina ay nag positibo para sa Covid 19 virus,” Diaz said.
(Today, we received our results and we regret to inform you that we both tested positive for the coronavirus.)
“Medyo banayad po lamang ang aming mga sintomas sa panahong ito,” he added.
(Our symptoms are mild at the moment.)
Vice Mayor Diaz surmised that his wife could have been exposed to the virus during her continued dialogues with healthcare workers and frontliners.
“Hindi na rin nya maiwasan ang pagbisita sa mga lockdown areas upang masiguro na hindi napapabayaan ang ating mga mamayan na kasalukuyang dumaranas ng paghihirap mula sa pandemyang ito,” he said.
(She visited areas on lockdown to ensure that residents are well taken care of.)
The town vice mayor asked their colleagues in the local government to continue the fight against the pandemic.
As of August 19, there are 173,774 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country, with 113,481 recoveries and 2,795 deaths.