MANILA – Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, who was tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), violated his home quarantine protocol when he accompanied his wife, who was supposed to give birth at the Makati Medical Center (MMC).
MMC Medical Director Dr. Saturnino Javier said, aside from breaking the quarantine protocols, Pimentel also breached the infection and containment protocols of the hospital against the virus as he “unduly exposed the hospital staff to possible infection.”
Pimentel brought his pregnant wife Kathryna to the hospital on Tuesday evening for delivery via caesarean section, the same night the Research Institute of Tropical Medicine informed him that his COVID-19 test turned out to be positive.
“We denounce the irresponsible and reckless action of the senator. He added to the burden of a hospital trying to respond in its most competent and aggressive manner to cope with the daunting challenges of this COVID-19 outbreak,” Javier said in a statement last night.
The Department of Health, meanwhile, said that it has yet to verify and study the chronology of the events regarding Pimentel’s case to determine if he violated any protocol on preventing the spread of COVID-19.
Pimentel III, for his part, asked for understanding after drawing flak from netizens as he adds that there was nothing to worry as he was not coughing or spreading droplets while in the hospital.
“Hindi naman ako umuubo so hindi ako nakakalat ng droplets. Wag masyado matakot,” Pimentel said. “Understand ko ‘yong natatakot pero ‘wag masyadong mag-discriminate kasi ngayon ko nararamdaman ‘yong discrimination actually.”
Kathryna, who is expected to give birth in the next few days, also clarified online reports as she said that they never entered the hospital’s delivery room.
“I feel really sad they are insisting I was in the delivery room and Senator Koko… Never reached inside the delivery room. I took the stress test for the baby inside the examination room,” Kathryna said in a separate statement.
Pimentel said on Wednesday morning that he had fever on March 18 and experienced slight sore throat, body pain and diarrhea. His coronavirus test was conducted on Friday with the result only coming out on Tuesday night.
Pimentel is the second senator to test positive for the virus after Senate Majority Floor Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri./PN
