Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto tests positive for COVID-19; says he'll continue to work remotely while in isolation
Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto just tested positive for COVID-19, but vowed to continue working while undergoing quarantine.
Hi everyone, bad news, I've tested positive for covid-19. I have sore throat, fever, and body aches, but please don't worry!
— Vico Sotto (@VicoSotto) January 15, 2022
I'll continue to work remotely while in isolation for the next 7 days.
"Hi everyone, bad news, I've tested positive for COVID-19," Sotto announced on his social media accounts Saturday night, Jan. 14, adding that he has sore throat, fever, and body aches.
"[B]ut please don't worry," the mayor said, as he assured his constituents that he'll continue to work remotely while in isolation for the next seven days.
The Department of Health (DOH) recently shortened quarantine and isolation periods for fully vaccinated COVID-19 patients and their close contacts.
Under the updated guidelines, the isolation period of fully vaccinated probable, asymptomatic, and mild cases would be reduced to seven days, from 10.
Partially vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals, however, would still undergo a full 10-day isolation period.
Sotto also warned the public about the highly transmissible Omicron variant, noting that he didn't test positive for the Delta variant even when he has had exposure with Delta cases.
"[S]abi nga ng ibang eksperto, LAHAT TAYO ay mae-expose dito," he said. "Kaya laging mag-iingat, magpalakas tayo ng katawan, at maging responsable pag may sintomas."
The DOH on Saturday afternoon confirmed that there's already community transmission of the Omicron variant in Metro Manila.
The DOH earlier cited studies saying that one Omicron case can infect up to 10 people, versus Delta's 8.
Genome sequencing also showed that Omicron has over 30 mutations in the spike protein, compared to Delta's 18. This makes it immune to vaccine-induced antibodies and causes more breakthrough infections.
To date, the country has 43 Omicron and 8,497 Delta cases on record.