PSG man tests positive, Duterte safe – Palace

THE Presidential Security Group ( PSG) assured the public that President Rodrigo Duterte remains shielded from the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) after one of his security aides tested positive for the virus.

PSG chief Jesus Durante said the virus- hit PSG member was not among the Chief Executive’s close-in security detail.

“[ There’s] No exposure with PRRD (President Duterte). [He] Does not belong with close-in security detail,” Durante told reporters in a text message on Tuesday.

The PSG member has fully recovered, Durante said.

He said 160 PSG personnel were tested using the rapid test kit, but only one was found positive.

“Since March we have been testing all PSG personnel and their dependents. So far, a total of 160 have been detected by RDT (rapid diagnostic test) but only one was found positive in PCR ( polymerase chain reaction),” Durante said.

“All PSG personnel are being tested by RDT every 15 days. If found positive by RDT, they are confined and isolated for 15 days then subjected to PCR test,” he added. Duterte, 75, tested negative for the novel coronavirus on March 31.

He took the test after some members of his Cabinet were exposed to a coronavirus patient. The President, who arrived on Monday night in Manila, was set to have a meeting with the InterAgency Task Force for Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) late Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Durante said all PSG personnel “strictly follows a systematic procedure” in accordance with the guidelines set forth by the Department of Health and the IATF-EID to prevent the spread of the virus.

“PSG troopers and their dependents undergo Covid- 19 rapid testing every two weeks to detect the virus. This is to ensure that PSG troopers do not become a threat to the President and guarantee that his safety is not compromised in any way,” Durante said.