Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is under an ongoing isolation regime to keep him safe from the novel coronavirus, his spokesman said on Monday after a cabinet member tested positive for Covid-19.
Duterte also undergoes regular swab tests, spokesman Harry Roque said.
“He is in perpetual isolation, in the sense that the presidential security group has done a very good job in making sure that no one really comes close to the president,” Roque told a press briefing.
“He has also been complaining of the repeated swabs to his nose,” he said.
On Sunday, Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano announced he had tested positive for the coronavirus and was “experiencing flu-like symptoms including a sore throat and body aches.”
Ano said he had gone into self-quarantine, and other cabinet members who were in close contact with him had also gone into isolation.
Duterte had not been in close contact with Ano.
The Philippines’ total coronavirus infections stood at 164,474 on Monday, after the Department of Health reported 3,314 additional cases. The death toll was at 2,681, up by 18.
The capital region of Metro Manila and four surrounding provinces were placed under lockdown again until August 18, after coronavirus infections spiked. Before this, restrictions had been eased in a bid to boost the economy.
SOURCE
GNA