MANILA – Negrense senator Juan Miguel Zubiri being tested positive for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may be inaccurate, according to Department of Health secretary Francisco Duque III.
He said in a radio interview yesterday that there’s a possibility that Zubiri’s result is “false positive” as he is asymptomatic. Another testing is set to be conducted on him.
“Kung hindi nga lang tayo medyo may limitasyon pa sa testing capacity, gusto ko sanang ipasuri siya ulit kasi hindi naman talagang 100% [accurate]… mayroon din kahit papaanong nakakalusot na mga false positive,” Duque said.
“Gusto kong ipaulit ito pero in the meantime, mas mahalaga na mag-quarantine muna siya. Tapusin na lang niya ng sampung araw pa. Ang mahalaga wala siyang sintomas,” he added.
The Negrense senator announced on March 16 that he received a call from Duque confirming that he tested positive for COVID-19. Zubiri pointed out that he contracted the disease despite taking strict precautionary measures.
“As one of those very early on in the Senate who espoused and advocated for stronger government response on controlling COVID-19, I was very careful in my dealings with people at work in the Senate,” Zubiri said.
“I practiced social distancing as well as a no handshake policy, yet i got contaminated. How? I do not know. This just goes to show how easily this virus is spread and therefore it is best for everyone to stay home and stay clean,” he added.
Meanwhile, Senators Sherwin Gatchalian, Nancy Binay and Ilonggo senator Franklin Drilon have already tested negative for the virus./PN
