House employee dies due to coronavirus

MANILA, Philippines – A printing service staff member in the House of Representatives, who was reported to have contracted the novel coronavirus, died on Sunday morning, March 15.

The news came from an internal message sent by House Secretary General Jose Luis G. Montales. Rappler sources confirmed receiving the message from him.

It remains unclear if the employee is part of the 8 deaths already confirmed by the Department of Health (DOH). He was said to be 41 years old.

The employee had no recent travel history to countries with reported coronavirus cases. He also had no known contact with a confirmed case.

The employee last reported for work in the House on March 3. He was reported to had been frequently visiting the hospital since last year due to various ailments. He was also recently confined due to community-acquired pneumonia.

All the staff of the printing service in the House of Representatives, as well as other employees the patient had contact with, were instructed to undergo quarantine.

The DOH announced a total of 111 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the Philippines on Saturday evening, March 14. – Rappler.com