{"id":252223,"date":"2020-04-15T23:24:26","date_gmt":"2020-04-16T03:24:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=252223"},"modified":"2020-04-15T23:24:26","modified_gmt":"2020-04-16T03:24:26","slug":"dutertes-visitors-required-to-undergo-rapid-test-for-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2020\/04\/15\/dutertes-visitors-required-to-undergo-rapid-test-for-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"Duterte\u2019s visitors required to undergo rapid test for Covid-19"},"content":{"rendered":"
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FILE: President Rodrigo Roa Duterte at the Malago Clubhouse in Malaca\u00f1ang on April 13, 2020. KARL NORMAN ALONZO\/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Government officials and other individuals who wish to visit President Rodrigo Duterte at Malaca\u00f1an Palace in Manila are now required to undergo rapid testing for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque announced on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Duterte had authorized the use of rapid tests for his visitors to keep him free of Covid-19, Roque confirmed in an interview.<\/p>\n

\u201cHindi lahat, \u2018yun lang may<\/em>\u00a0audience\u00a0sa<\/em>\u00a0President (Not everyone will undergo rapid testing for Covid-19, only those who will serve as the President\u2019s audience). It is to protect the President, given that it (rapid test kit) is not expensive,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Duterte on Monday ordered the immediate purchase of rapid test kits to boost the country\u2019s testing capability amid the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

In a separate statement issued on Wednesday night, Presidential Security Group (PCG) commander, Col. Jesus Durante III said the rapid tests would be administered by PSG Task Force Covid’s medical team.<\/p>\n

\u201cPSG requires everyone who goes near PRRD (President Rodrigo Roa Duterte) to undergo regular screening procedures which includes rapid testing to detect Covid-19 infection. The procedure exempts nobody and is even administered to high ranking government officials, PSG troopers, and close-in personnel who always accompany the president,\u201d Durante said.<\/p>\n

Durante said the rapid testing is \u201ctotally different\u201d from the real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests.<\/p>\n

He said those who will be found positive during the rapid tests will not be allowed to enter Malaca\u00f1an Palace.<\/p>\n

\u201cMuch more if the concerned party manifests fever and other symptoms related to Covid-19,\u201d Durante said.<\/p>\n

Durante, however, said the PSG is not claiming that the results of the rapid tests are \u201cdefinite and absolute.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is still subject for confirmation through PCR tests administered by RITM (Research Institute for Tropical Medicine),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Roque said the latest directive mandating Duterte\u2019s visitors to undergo rapid testing for Covid-19 was meant to make sure that they are not carriers of the new pathogen.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just at least\u00a0ma<\/em>-screen\u00a0kahit papaano ang may<\/em>\u00a0audience\u00a0sa<\/em>\u00a0President (to screen the President\u2019s audience),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Durante said the PSG\u2019s new initiative is to ensure the \u201csafety and good health of the President.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roque said strict social distancing would still be observed during Duterte\u2019s meeting with Cabinet officials and other top government officials.<\/p>\n

\u201cBawal pa rin lumapit kay Presidente. Mayroon pa ring harang<\/em>\u00a0(No one is allowed to go near the President. There\u2019s a barrier). No cabinet member can actually go next to the President nowadays,\u201d Roque said.<\/p>\n

The Philippines currently undertakes PCR tests, which detect the actual presence of Covid-19.<\/p>\n

Roque said the PCR-based test kits remain the \u201cgold standard\u201d for diagnosing coronavirus disease.<\/p>\n

The stricter health protocols came amid the increasing number of Covid-19 cases in the country.<\/p>\n

The Philippines now has 5,453 confirmed Covid-19 cases, with 349 deaths and 353 recoveries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA\u00a0\u2013 Government officials and other individuals who wish to visit President Rodrigo Duterte at Malaca\u00f1an Palace in Manila are now …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":252016,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1145,16,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-252223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headline","category-news","category-news-ph","mauthors-ruth-abbey-gita-carlos","mauthors-philippine-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252223","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=252223"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252223\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":252224,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252223\/revisions\/252224"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/252016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=252223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=252223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=252223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}