Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana. FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — After getting a positive result in a previous COVID-19 swab test on Wednesday, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Friday said he tested negative for the coronavirus in a follow up test.
“My RT-PCR [test] yesterday came out negative,” Lorenzana told reporters in a Viber message on Friday.
Still, the defense chief said he was advised by Health Secretary Francisco Duque III to continue his home quarantine until Nov. 23.
Senator Joel Villanueva also shared with reporters a message from Lorenzana on Friday informing that he tested negative for the virus.
“Sen Joel, my follow up swab…yesterday is negative,” Lorenzana said in his message to the senator.
On Wednesday, Lorenzana confirmed he tested positive for the virus a day after he physically attended the Senate plenary deliberations of his agency’s 2022 budget on Tuesday.
Due to the incident, all the budget deliberations scheduled on Thursday were canceled, with the debates resuming on Monday, November 22.
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