Health Secretary Francisco Duque has gone into self-quarantine after a senior official at his agency tested positive for COVID-19, Undersecretary Rosette Vergeire announced today.
Duque, while asymptomatic, is also being tested to check if he has been infected, and is expected to receive his results in two to three days.
“Yes, Secretary Duque is on home quarantine but currently asymptomatic. He has already been tested for COVID 19 test as he is Asthmatic and Hypertensive. He is now working from home,” Vergeire told reporters in a text message, The Philippine Daily Inquirer reports.
Duque told the Manila Bulletin that he will be working from home for 14 days and will continue to give orders to the Department of Health (DOH).
“I don’t actually have colds, maybe just a mild one… probably caused by my allergy,” he said.
It was on Tuesday when the DOH announced that one of its directors tested positive for COVID-19. The director’s office has been disinfected and his close contacts were informed of his status so they could go into self-quarantine, reports GMA News.
The Philippines currently has 212 COVID-19 cases, with 17 dead as of this morning. All of Luzon island has been placed on a monthlong lockdown to control the spread of the virus.
