‘I’ll be fine’: De Lima tests positive for COVID-19

SEPTEMBER 30, 2022 Former senator Leila de Lima (PHOTO FROM VIDEO FROM DE LIMA CAMP)

MANILA, Philippines — Former Senator Leila de Lima has been infected with COVID-19, she disclosed on Monday.

De Lima said she tested COVID-19-positive in both antigen and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction tests on Sunday.

The detained senator said that she started experiencing COVID-19 symptoms after the hearing in one of the drug cases against her.

READ: Recanting witness Ragos says ‘really sorry’ to de Lima: ‘I got scared’

“When attending recent hearings in the 2 remaining trumped-up charges, with practically jampacked courtrooms, I felt it was just a matter of time before contracting the virus.

“So it is that last Saturday, Nov. 5, or a day after the hearing in one of the cases, I started having colds (running nose), mild cough, itchy throat and joint/body aches short of feverish, which prompted the tests,” she said in a statement.

De Lima is currently in self-isolation and taking prescribed medicines.

“Now in self-isolation (nothing new for me) in my isolated detention quarters. Taking anti-viral meds as prescribed by my doctors. Resting, reading a novel, praying,” she said.

The former senator asked her staff to advise individuals she met during the November 4 hearing to self-monitor.

De Lima likewise told the public: “I’ll be fine. Thank you for all the prayers and concern.”

Since 2017, De Lima has been in detention due to drug trade charges that she repeatedly denied and labeled fabricated.

One of the three drug cases against de Lima, a staunch critic of former President Rodrigo Duterte, was dismissed in 2021.

JMS/abc