MANILA – Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque has completed his mandatory quarantine and recovered from Covid-19 more than a week after announcing he tested positive for the virus.
He himself confirmed the news on his official Facebook page on Thursday.
“Salamat kay Dr Du at lahat ng staff ng Summit Hotel Oplan Kalinga Isolation Center. Quarantine finally over pero sa Lunes pa ang balik Malacañang. Press briefing via Zoom pa rin today (Thank you to Dr. Du and the staff of Summit Hotel Oplan Kalinga Isolation Center. Quarantine finally over but I will return to Malacañang on Monday. Press briefing via Zoom today),” he said in his Facebook post.
In a virtual press briefing, Roque said his last reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test yielded a negative result.
“Meron na po akong certificate of quarantine issued po ng mga napakagaling na mga doctors and staff members diyan po sa Summit Hotel. Nagpapasalamat po ako sa kanila…Bago ka mabigyan ng certificate of quarantine e dapat meron ka na ring negative PCR result so nag-negative na rin po ako sa PCR result (I already have a certificate of quarantine issued by our talented doctors and staff members of Summit Hotel. I want to thank them…Before you are given a certificate of quarantine, you should have a negative PCR result so I already yielded a negative PCR result),” he said.
Roque said he would limit unnecessarily going outside to prevent contracting Covid-19 anew.
“Ang duda ko yung pagiikot ko sa ospital, yun po yung bagong mga galaw ko na hindi naman kasama sa aking mga dating mga public appearances. So ngayon po kung hindi kinakailangan pumunta sa ospital, hindi na po ako tatapak sa ospital (I think I may have contracted Covid from visiting hospitals, that’s something new I did which is not usually apart from my public appearances. Now, I won’t set foot on hospitals unless necessary),” he said.
Prior to testing positive for Covid-19, Roque said he visited at least seven hospitals in a span of two weeks.
Last March 15, Roque said he was “shocked” and “surprised” that he tested positive for Covid-19 and admitted that he regretted not getting inoculated with a vaccine. He said he was asymptomatic.
The interim National Immunization Technical Advisory Group’s (NITAG) has discouraged government officials to get inoculated until all frontline healthcare workers receive the vaccine.
While under isolation, Roque continued to discharge his function and attend meetings through video conference.
He dismissed as fake news reports that he is currently isolating in a presidential suite in a luxury hotel in Pasay City.
Roque later clarified that he actually checked in a 2-star hotel in San Juan City on Annapolis Street.
He, however, declined to make public his Covid-19 test result, stressing that “it is not important.
