Former Philippine president Joseph “Erap” Estrada is now COVID-19 free, more than two weeks after he contracted the virus, his son Jinggoy Estrada said Tuesday, April 13.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, the former senator said his father’s health condition continued to improve.

“We are happy to announce that my dad continues to improve and we expect that he can be transferred to a regular room soon. His repeat RT-PCR (swab test) is now negative,” Jinggoy said.

“He is still on high flow oxygen support but at a much reduced rate. He has been allowed to resume soft diet,” Jinggoy added.

The younger Estrada said the former president was “mentally oriented, conversing normally and appears to be in good spirits.”

The former president was transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU) and placed on a mechanical ventilator on April 5 as his pneumonia due to COVID-19 worsened.

Estrada, who is turning 84 on April 19, was rushed to the hospital on March 28 because of the coronavirus disease. – Rappler.com