Caloocan cathedral locked down after priest’s death

MANILA, Philippines — The San Roque Cathedral in Caloocan was placed on lockdown yesterday following the death of a priest who tested positive for COVID-19.

Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines president and Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David said the cathedral was shut down after guest priest Manuel Jadraque Jr., 58, of the Mission Society of the Philippines, died on Saturday.

Jadraque was in a tricycle going to the cathedral from Monumento when he was found unresponsive, David said.

The priest was rushed to the hospital where he was declared dead on arrival.

Jadraque tested positive for COVID-19 following a post-mortem swab test, according to David.

David said the priest was fully vaccinated with the Sinovac jab, which was validated by the World Health Organization for emergeny use for meeting international standards of safety and efficacy.

David requested that the priest’s sample be subjected to genome sequencing to determine the virus variant.