A confirmatory swab (RT-PCR) test showed Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri negative for COVID-19, he told reporters in a message on Tuesday, July 28.

An earlier swab test on the senator yielded a positive result on Monday, July 27, forcing him to skip physically attending President Rodrigo Duterte’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) at the Batasan Pambansa in Quezon City that afternoon.

“My confirmatory test with the Philippine Red Cross has come out and shows that I no longer have live RNA cells of COVID-19,” Zubiri said.

The Philippine Red Cross’ PCR machines are “state of the art” and can distinguish between live and dead RNA in blood samples, he added.

This could mean Monday’s RT-PCR test by the Department of Health detected only remnants of the novel coronavirus, which Zubiri contracted in mid-March. He was the first senator who had been infected with the virus but he was asymptomatic. He recovered in mid-April.

Despite his latest negative result, Zubiri said he would remain in quarantine for the prescribed period “to be sure and safe.”

Citing infectious disease experts and studies on COVID-19, the senator said having only remnants of the virus means he is no longer contagious.

Guests invited to attend the SONA at the Batasan were subjected to rapid and RT-PCR tests prior to the event. Because he tested positive, Zubiri just watched the President’s speech from his “isolation room.”

Zubiri was one of only 8 senators invited to the Batasan for the SONA. – Rappler.com