CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has contracted the deadly respiratory disease COVID-19 but continues to carry out his duties in isolation.
This was also
confirmed by the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) after Marcos was
tested positive for the viral disease. He was advised by his doctors to observe
the mandatory five-day isolation period.
“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 PCO said on its official Facebook page.
Marcos continues to
receive short “get well” messages from friends and political allies.
Before contracting
COVID-19, Marcos has Filipinos to take precautions to safeguard their health,
such as getting vaccinated and wearing face mask in crowded places.
Just last month, the Department of Health said the number of
COVID-19 cases in the country is on the rise again with nearly 200 people
getting the respiratory disease.
The virus first appeared
on a small scale in November 2019 with the first large cluster
appearing in Wuhan, China in December 2019. The disease quickly spread to 229
countries and territories around the world and the World Health Organization
(WHO) reported a total of 697,391,000 confirmed cases of the COVID-19
and a death toll of 6,934,972.
Last July, Marcos Jr.
lifted the country’s public health emergency status after WHO considered
COVID-19 as just one of the respiratory illnesses, although he renewed calls
for Filipinos to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as their way of protecting the
vulnerable sector.
Marcos underscored the importance of the government’s
vaccination program to protect those with comorbidities and the elderly. He said getting the COVID-19 vaccine is not
only good for the one who received it, but is also good for the protection of
one’s family and the general public.
“So, we must not let our guard down. Although the rest of
society – the other sectors of our society have tried to move on and say the
emergency is over and certainly in a way we can say that is the case. However,
it is not over completely,” he said.
“And that is why we
should not be complacent and that is why we institute programs like this, which
continue to seek to protect our vulnerable populace, (the) vulnerable sectors
of our populace and that particular demographic in this case is that of the
elderly,” he added.
Records from the
Department of Health showed that the Philippines has fully vaccinated over 100%
of the target population. (Mindanao Examiner)
