MANILA Mayor Isko Moreno announced that he had contracted the coronavirus but vowed that the governance in the city will continue without any disruption whatsoever.

As of this writing, Moreno is confined at the Sta. Ana Hospital in the care of its director, Dr. Grace Padilla, along with Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna who got infected earlier on August 5 and tested positive on August 8.

Moreno said he will continue discharging his duties as city mayor, in fulfillment of his promise to Manilans that he will never leave their side no matter what happens, even as he thanked all those who expressed concern and offered prayers for his and Lacuna’s speedy recovery .

“We will continue to work. We made a commitment sa tao na hindi natin sila iiwan. Let us trust in God’s healing,” Moreno said.

In the meantime, he designated city administrator Felix Espiritu to receive whatever donations may arrive in his behalf.

Moreno said he cannot pinpoint how he got infected, as he continued his functions fully amid the pandemic and despite the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), during which he sleeps in his office at the Manila City Hall.

Moreno said he manifested symptoms like cough, colds, headache and slight fever and said that other than those, he is generally okay.

Lacuna s on her way to recovery and might be discharged within the week. She said she also had sore throat and a headache too, before she got swabbed.

Moreno called on Manilans to “keep safe, stay home as much as possible and get vaccinated as soon as possible.”

Meanwhile, he assured that all other city functions like distribution of the cash aid under the social amelioration program and the programs that benefit the residents will continue, including the mass vaccination program depending on the vaccine allotment from the national government.

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Itchie G. Cabayan