2 new COVID-19 cases reported at House

Two more cases of COVID-19 have been reported at the House of Representatives, according to the chamber's Secretary General Jose Luis Montales.

In a statement shared with reporters on Wednesday morning, Montales said the first of the two new cases is from the Committee on Rules who reported for work from July 20 to August 5.

The said employee took a COVID-19 test after experiencing symptoms including loss of sense of smell and decreased sense of taste, he added.

Meanwhile, the second new case is part of the Grounds Maintenance Group who reported for work from July 20 to 30 and is currently asymptomatic, Montales said.

This employee is a close contact of an officemate who earlier tested positive for the disease, he added.

Montales said contact tracing with regards to the two new cases is ongoing.

This brings the total number of COVID-19 cases at the House to 42, but it does not include yet Senior Citizens party-list Representative Francisco "Jun" Datol Jr., who died of of acute respiratory distress due to COVID-19. 

As of August 11, the Philippines has recorded 139,538 cases of COVID-19, with 2,312 deaths and 68,432 recoveries. —KG, GMA News