‘Low chance’ of Gatchalian, Binay getting COVID-19, says Senate doc

MANILA, Philippines — There is only a low chance that Senators Sherwin Gatchalian and Nancy Binay have contacted the coronavirus disease or COVID-19 through a resource person who recently attended a Senate hearing and later tested positive for the disease.

“Some good news, our Senate Doctor, Dr. Sison, reviewed the CCTV and saw that Nancy and I didn’t shake the hands or had any encounter with (the patient) during and after the hearing. We (were) also quite far away (estimate of 5 meters) from him. So low chance of contracting the virus,” Gatchalian said in a Viber message to reporters.

Gatchalian said he will be tested for the disease today and that the results may be released within 48 hours after the test.

A staff of the senator earlier said that the patient visited the Senate twice, in a meeting on February 27 and in the hearing conducted by the committee on basic education, arts, and culture, which he chairs, on March 5.

In a separate interview, Gatchalian said that 25 Senate staff have come in direct contact with the patient. He added that almost 200 individuals were inside the Senate room where the hearing attended by the patient was conducted.

He said he also advised that Senate hearings be put on hold in the next two weeks as a precautionary measure against the spread of the disease.

Gatchalian and Binay announced Wednesday night that they will undergo self-quarantine after having close contact with the patient.

The resource person, now confined at the Manila Doctors Hospital, was the husband of a 67-year-old Filipina who died on Wednesday, according to Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri. The fatality was recorded as the second death due to COVID-19 in the country and the first death of a Filipino due to the disease.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III has placed the premises of the Senate under restricted access until disinfection is completed.

EDV