MANILA, Philippines — A lawmaker from Sorsogon and two employees are the latest to have contracted the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the House of Representatives, Secretary-General Luis Jose Luis Montales said on Sunday.
Montales said Sorsogon 2nd District Rep. Ditas Ramos contracted COVID-19 and was tested while in her home province.
Montales said one of the infected House employees is from the Finance Department while the other is from the Committee on Legislative Franchises.
The new cases bring the total number of infection cases in the House of Representatives to 68.
“We received word that Congw. Ditas Ramos (2nd District, Sorsogon) has tested positive for COVID-19. She developed symptoms and got tested in the province,” Montales said in a statement.
“Let’s pray for the speedy and complete recovery of our confirmed cases,” he added.
According to Montales, the first of the two new infected employees last reported for work on September 1, and contracted the disease while tending to her son who also had COVID-19. The other employee last went to the House of Representatives on August 10.
READ: House of Representatives COVID-19 cases rise to 64
At present, there are over 237,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country. The Philippines has one of the highest numbers of infections in Asia. Of these cases, the health department says 184,687 are recoveries while 3,875 are deaths.