Zubiri cleared of COVID-19 after confirmatory test
MANILA, Philippines — After testing positive for COVID-19 on Monday, Senate Majority Leader Miguel Zubiri took a confirmatory test and on Tuesday announced that he was cleared of the disease.
Zubiri originally contracted the virus in March and announced his recovery in April.
"What the infectious disease experts told us is that the DOH results yesterday possibly detected remnants of dead virus cells which is a common occurrence with recovered patients," he said.
He added that the polymerase chain reaction machines of the Philippine Red Cross are "state of the art and can detect live RNA and differentiate it from the dead pieces of the cells."
"This means that a recovered patient is no longer contagious and is safe while they still have antibodies," Zubiri said in Filipino.
The senate majority leader Monday attended the reopening of the 18th Congress' regular session along with 16 other senators who were physically present.
However, he stayed home for the president's State of the Nation Address later in the day after receiving his initial test results
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian also chose to stay home as he had come into contact with Zubiri over lunch. — Bella Perez-Rubio
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