EIGHT Presidential Security Group (PSG) personnel assigned to the Office of the Executive Secretary tested positive for Sars-CoV-2, which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea's test results were negative.
PSG Group Commander Jesus Durante III assured Wednesday, July 22, 2020, that the eight PSG personnel did not have any close contact with President Rodrigo Duterte.
"PSG also assures the public of the President's safety despite this unfortunate situation as we continually implement the strict health protocols to our personnel and their dependents to guarantee that the President is safe and healthy," he said.
Durante confirmed the cases after an employee of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) contracted Covid-19.
Work at the New Executive Building in Malacañang complex was suspended on Tuesday, July 21, to give way for contact tracing and swab testing of its employees.
In an advisory Wednesday, Durante said two officers and six enlisted personnel assigned to Medialdea's office also contracted the virus.
The security personnel assigned to the President are consistently being tested for Covid-19.
"The President's close-in security personnel further endure being at a separated billeting area to limit their contact even from their comrades and loved ones just to lessen exposure and ultimately ensure that they to not become the threats themselves," he added.
He said the PSG remains steadfast in being a 360-degree shield for the President and the seat of central power in the country. (Jove Moya/VoxPop Philippines)