Pimentel confirms: I have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus

Pimentel became the second senator to test positive for the virus, following Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri. (File photo: Senate of the Philippines/Facebook)

Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III asked the public to include him and his wife, Kathryna, to their prayers after learning that he tested positive for the coronavirus disease (2019).

Confirming this on Wednesday, March 25, Pimentel shared that his sample was taken last Friday, March 20, but it was only on Tuesday, March 24, when he was informed that his result came out positive.

“I would like to ask for your prayers, especially for my wife Kath, who is about to give birth in the next few days to our first baby girl, and with whom I cannot be with at this very important point in our lives as parents,” he said.

“I have quarantined myself upon the doctor’s advice and consistent with the protocol. I feel I am, with God’s help, on the way to recovery,” he added.

The lawmaker said he will also inform those people he encountered these past few days regarding his result.

Pimentel thanked health workers who are putting their lives at risk to help in the COVID-19 situation in the country.

“They are the true heroes in this fight,” he said.

He also urged the public to observe social distancing, enhanced community quarantine measures, and good hygiene practices to protect themselves from COVID-19.

Pimentel became the second senator to test positive for the virus, following Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri.

As of publishing, the country has so far recorded more than 500 confirmed cases of COVID-19.

With the continuous rise in the number of those infected, President Rodrigo Dutert has placed the entire Luzon under an enhanced community quarantine to prevent the further spread of the virus.

He also recently signed a law that will grant him additional powers to strengthen the government’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

[READ: Duterte inks law on special powers to address Covid-19]