Two of the six jeepney drivers from transport group Piston who were arrested for staging a protest in Caloocan City have tested positive of the coronavirus, Congressman Edgar Erice announced yesterday.
Erice said that while only two of the drivers have tested positive for the virus, “it is important to test people they came in contact with under detainment.” He also urged the Caloocan City Police to disinfect their detention facility.
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Read: 6 jeepney drivers charged in Caloocan City for asking gov’t to allow them to work
In a text message to the Philippine Star today, Erice said all six of the jeepney drivers were tested on June 11, but their results were released only yesterday. Those who were infected with the coronavirus will be put in isolation centers and their families will also be tested.
Erice did not disclose the identity of the drivers who have been infected with COVID-19, but Elmer Cordero, the 72-year old protester who had to stay longer in jail than the others due to a pending case, tested negative.
The drivers, dubbed the Piston 6, were arrested for supposedly violating social distancing rules when they protested against the government’s decision to ban jeepneys in Metro Manila while it remains under quarantine. The government insists that this was necessary because passengers might get infected with the coronavirus.
Aside from Cordero, the police arrested drivers Wilson Ramilla, Severino Ramos, Ramon Paloma, and Arsenio Ymas Jr., as well as Piston’s Deputy Secretary General Ruben Baylon,
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