Sariaya town mayor, wife contract COVID-19

LUCENA CITY –– The mayor of Sariaya town in Quezon province and his wife both contracted the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the local chief executive revealed Monday.

On his Facebook page, Mayor Marcelo Gayeta, 43, showed copies of the “positive” results of his and his wife’s, Marivic, 44, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests released on Sunday at 8:40 p.m. Both were tested on Oct. 9.

“Bilang ama at ina ng ating bayan, di naming ninais na itago at mahiya sa resulta ng pagsusuri (As father and mother of our town, we do not wish to conceal and be ashamed of the result of the test),” Gayeta said.

He expressed sadness that their infection coincides with his birthday on Oct. 14.

However, he was grateful that the rest of his family and staff were found negative for the virus.

He appealed to his townmates to join them in prayers for their speedy recoveries.

Gayeta urged the public, particularly the elderly, to strictly observe all safety and health protocols to avoid getting infected by the dreaded virus.

“Ang hirap po pala, parang nalulunod. Walang panlasa at pang-amoy. Sobrang hirap po, dinadaan na lang namin sa tawa subalit may sakit na nararamdaman (It’s difficult, it’s like drowning. No sense of taste and smell. It is so hard, we just use humor to get by but we are still sick),” he said.

His Facebook post also contained a photo of them, both smiling, inside their bedroom.

Gayeta did not mention where he contracted the virus. It is public knowledge in the municipality that the mayor regularly visits different villages every morning and interacts with his constituents even amid the pandemic.

As of Monday morning, Sariaya logged 135 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic broke out early March and at least 74 of them are still active virus carriers. The town also has nine fatalities from COVID-19.

Gayeta is the second mayor in the province who publicly admitted to virus infection. Last August, Mauban Mayor Marita Llamas also revealed her COVID-19 condition on social media.

ZB