Palace spokesman Harry Roque announced on Monday that he had tested positive for Covid-19. Nonetheless, according to him, the country’s pandemic response has been “excellent.”
“Bukas po, iyong magiging case bulletin ng [Department of Health], kasama na rin po ang inyong abang lingkod because as of 11:29 this morning, nakuha ko po ang resulta na positibo po ako para sa Covid,” Roque said in a Palace briefing.
Prior to the positive test, Roque said he had yielded two negative tests the past few days: one last March 10 and another on March 11.
“Pero itong test po na kung saan tayo nagpositibo, ito po ay kahapon lamang para nga po sana ngayon para sa pagpupulong kay presidente mamaya at dito po lumabas na tayo ay positibo,” the spokesman said.
The Philippines’ Covid-19 cases ballooned to 626,893 on Monday with 5,404 new cases.
Roque acknowledged that the country’s Covid-19 cases have been on the rise, but maintained that the government’s response has been “excellent.”
“Ano ba ho talaga ang dahilan at bigla tayong nagtaas ng numero ng Covid? Well, unang-una po ‘no, mayroon pong lumabas na report na kinu-quote iyong sinasabi ko na excellent tayo sa handling. Excellent naman po talaga tayo sa handling until this month of March kung saan sumipa ang mga kaso ng Covid,” he said.
“Ang conclusion, hindi naman po siguro dahil sa nagiging pabaya tayo ‘no. Hindi ko rin masasabi na ito po ay dahil sa mga bagong variant dahil hindi naman po ako dalubhasa. Pero ang hindi natin makakaila ay talagang lahat na po ng mga variants ay nadiskubre na dito sa Pilipinas,” he added.
Roque said he was exhibiting no Covid-19 symptoms and would continue to attend meetings of the country’s pandemic task force with President Rodrigo Duterte virtually. John Ezekiel J. Hirro