Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri issued a lockdown order in the entire Senate building to arrest the spread of COVID-19, after eight senators tested positive for the virus recently.
The eight Senators are Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva, Senators Alan Peter Cayetano, Imee Marcos, Cynthia Villar, Grace Poe, JV Ejercito, Francis “Chiz” Escudero and Nancy Binay.
Binay, Ejercito and Villanueva were the second batch who contracted the virus while the rest tested positive prior to them.
This development prompted Zubiri to order a thorough disinfection of all Senate offices and then order a total lockdown in the meantime and sessions will resume August 23.
The Senate has banned visitors for the next three weeks and now require negative antigen or RT-PCR tests for government officials and resource persons who will be required to for committee proceedings.
As such, “all Senate employees shall work from home and need not report to the Senate on Monday,” Zubiri had said.
“Please stay safe and healthy everyone. Together we shall fight this virus and continue to deliver government service as efficiently as possible. Maraming salamat po (Thank you very much),” Zubiri said in an advisory released over the weekend.
