Roque tests positive for Covid-19 after out-of-town trips

FOLLOWING several out-of-town trips last week, Presidential spokesman Harry Roque announced on Monday he tested positive for Covid-19.

In an online press briefing, Roque said he is currently in isolation after the result of his reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test, which he took on Sunday, showed he was infected.

He underwent the swab test in preparation for attending the public address of President Duterte on Monday.

“It came as a surprise and a shock; it’s not just a shock that after about 35 tests [in the past two weeks], I tested positive,” Roque said.

This after he traveled to Dumaguete on March 11, where he joined Duterte for the inauguration of two infrastructure projects, and in Ilocos Norte on March 10.

In both cases, Roque said he tested negative for Covid-19 and, he stressed, he observed minimum health standards such as wearing of facemasks and social distancing.

Roque, who is currently asymptomatic, said he will be staying in an isolation facility to comply with the government policy against home quarantine.

While recovering, he said he will continue with his task as spokesman, including holding regular briefings as long as he does not suffer from any adverse symptoms.

He urged those he may have interacted with to also undergo precautionary isolation.