MANILA – After contracting COVID-19 for the third time, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is observing the mandatory five-day isolation period upon the advice of his doctors although he still carries out his responsibilities.
“The President remains fit to carry out his duties and will be continuing his scheduled meetings via teleconference. Updates on his health will be provided as available,” the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said in a statement released on its social media pages around midnight on Monday.
The PCO quoted the President as urging Filipinos to take precautions to safeguard their health such as getting vaccinated and wearing face masks in crowded places.
He last appeared in public during the Family Day celebration held at Malacañang on Saturday. He was scheduled to attend the National Decongestion Summit in Manila on Wednesday.
Marcos first tested positive for COVID-19 in March 2020 and again in July last year.
Flu-like symptoms
For Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa, while there may be an uptick in cases of respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19, nationwide, there was no indication of an outbreak.
“Our cases are increasing, but they are not at the level of an outbreak yet. But our epidemiology bureau is monitoring the cases,” he told reporters on Tuesday.
But he pointed out that many of those exhibiting flu-like symptoms do not submit themselves to COVID-19 testing any more so the data may not capture the actual situation.
“As you can see, a lot of us have respiratory [ailments] like the President, who has COVID. And then many have cough and colds,” said Herbosa.
The health chief strongly urged high-risk individuals, such as the elderly and those with comorbidities, as well as those attending events in crowded places, to keep wearing face masks to add a layer of protection against diseases.
Department of Health (DOH) spokesperson Enrique Tayag also noted the “slow increase” in COVID-19 infections, saying the DOH was monitoring whether the new “variants of interest” were behind the trend.
Based on the monitoring of the World Health Organization, the latest COVID-19 strain it designated as a “variant of interest,” a level just below the highest category of variant of concern, was BA.2.86.
The average COVID-19 case count has been on an upward trend since Nov. 5, according to the DOH case bulletin. A daily average of 191 infections were recorded in the week of Nov. 28 to Dec. 4, a 10 percent jump compared to 174 between Nov. 21 and 27. (Jerome Aning, Kathleen de Villa © Philippine Daily Inquirer)
