Zubiri admits having ‘slight fever’ before testing positive for coronavirus

Sen. Miguel Zubiri. PRIB Photo

MANILA, Philippines — Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri on Thursday admitted that days before he tested positive for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), he had a “slight fever” last week.

Previously, Zubiri bared that Health Secretary Francisco Duque III told him that he was positive for COVID-19 and was found to be asymptomatic, meaning he has yet to show any signs of the disease such as dry cough, fever, and shortness of breath.

In a statement, Zubiri first stated that the remaining test kits should be utilized “to those who need them the most,” such frontline medical personnel and symptomatic patients especially the elderly after Duque said that the senator’s results may be “false positive.”

“In my case, I feel that the first and only test I had was accurate as I remembered that I had a slight fever Wednesday last week and was asymptomatic already by Monday after,” Zubiri added.

Still, Zubiri said, that he will continue his self-quarantine for another eight days to “complete the protocol.”

“Whatever test that will be done on me, later on, will be from the 10,000 kits our private sector group Art Rocks is paying for and bringing in from Korea as donations to frontline hospitals and not from government sources,” he added.

As of Thursday, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases is at 217, 17 of which have died while eight have recovered.

The COVID-19 is a respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus that first emerged in China’s city of Wuhan in Hubei province in late 2019.

The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses named the novel coronavirus as SARS-CoV-2.

The virus causes mild symptoms such as fever and cough for most people but can cause serious illness such as pneumonia for others, especially older adults and people with existing health problems.