UPDATED MANILA, Philippines — Senator Cynthia Villar has been infected with COVID-19, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri announced on Tuesday.
“We just like to put on record that our distinguished colleague, Senator Cynthia Villar, had tested positive today for COVID-19,” Zubiri said during the plenary session.
“We would like to wish her well and pray for a speedy recovery and for all our members also to be extra careful at this time when COVID is still surging,” he added.
Villar is the third senator to get hit by COVID-19.
Last week, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano first tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
As a follow-up, he will be given another test for COVID-19 on Wednesday to confirm if he has recovered from it.
Likewise, Senator Imee Marcos is under quarantine and is experiencing a “raging fever,” according to Zubiri on Monday.
The Senate has implemented tighter protocols to limit visitors at the upper chamber in Pasay City.
Starting August 8, visitors are required to present their vaccination card and a negative COVID-19 antigen or reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction test.