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'We lost a good friend:' Vico Sotto in quarantine after driver dies due to COVID-19

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Katrina Domingo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/news/03/15/vico-driver.jpg"/><figcaption>Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto with his driver he fondly calls &quot;Kuya Vener.&quot; Photo from Vico Sotto&#x27;s Facebook page</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA (UPDATE 3) - Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto on Monday said he is under quarantine after his driver passed away due to COVID-19. &quot;We lost a good friend, Kuya Vener, to COVID,&quot; Sotto said on Twitter as he announced that he would go on quarantine until March 24, or two weeks from when his driver &quot;last drove for me.&quot; &quot;Thank you for your kind messages. Please pray, especially for his family,&quot; he told the public.Sotto said he was last exposed to his driver on Wednesday, before the patient was admitted to the hospital after showing symptoms of COVID-19.&quot;Wag kayong mag-alala, okay ako. Wala akong symptoms bukod sa chronic cough ko na matagal na naman. Wala pang pandemiya, may chronic cough na ako,&quot; Sotto said in a video on his Facebook page.(Don&#x27;t worry, I&#x27;m okay. I have no symptoms aside from my chronic cough which I&#x27;ve had for a long time. I already have this chronic cough even before the pandemic.)<div>&#x27;EVER-SMILING&#x27; VENER</div>Sotto said &quot;Kuya Vener&quot; has been with his family for several years.&quot;Nung hindi pa ako konsehal at nag-iisa pa lang siyang staff ko, kaming 2 yung laging magkasama,&quot; the mayor said in a Facebook post.(We were always together even when I was not yet a councilor and he was the only staff I had.)&quot;Sinuyod namin ang mga eskenita&#x27;t looban ng Pasig nang kaming dalawa lang. Kwentuhan lang habang nasa sasakyan, mula umaga hanggang gabi,&quot; he said.(We would comb through Pasig&#x27;s side streets and alleys. We would just talk while inside the car, from morning until evening.)Sotto&#x27;s mother, actress Coney Reyes, also thanked the late driver for working for their family.&quot;Maraming salamat sa matapat mong serbisyo, Vener! Mami-miss ka namin, lalo na ng anak ko,&quot; she said in an Instagram post.(Thank you so much for your honest service, Vener! We will miss you, especially my son.)The mayor described his driver and close friend as a good husband and father who is well-loved and &quot;ever-smiling.&quot;Other city hall workers were also last in contact with the late driver on March 10, and they were swabbed on March 14 to check if they were also carriers of the disease.&quot;Kaya kami kahapon lang na-test kasi inantay din natin &#x27;yung incubation period na 4-5 days after ng exposure sa virus,&quot; the mayor said.(We only underwent testing yesterday because we had to wait for the incubation period of 4-5 days after our exposure to the virus.)&quot;Baka mamayang tanghali o mamayang hapon lumabas na yung PCR results ko at close contacts ni Kuya Vener mula noong Wednesday,&quot; he said.(The results of our PCR test may come out either today noon or before evening.)&quot;Pero kahit mag-negative ay tatapusin ko ang quarantine, alinsunod sa DOH guidelines. Posible kasing nag-i-incubate pa lang ang virus kaya negative,&quot; he said.(Even if we test negative, we will complete the quarantine in accordance with the DOH guidelines. There is a possibility that the virus is still in the incubation period, that&#x27;s why the result is negative.)Sotto said he has canceled all his face-to-face appointments and meetings, while documents that he has to sign would be sanitized before and after these are delivered to his room.<div>&#x27;VOLUNTARY ECQ&#x27;</div>Sotto urged his constituents to go on &quot;voluntary enhanced community quarantine&quot; as the government could no longer afford to impose another lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19.&quot;Hindi na natin kaya bumalik sa ECQ talaga kasi kawawa ang mga tao. Hindi man magka-COVID, mamamatay naman sa gutom,&quot; he said.Those who are either &quot;privileged,&quot; not required to physically come to their workplaces or have no essential business outside should just stay at home, the mayor said.&quot;&#x27;Yung mga nagbi-birthday party pa din diyan, sana matauhan na kayo. Mag-party man kayo, &#x27;yung mga kasama niyo na lang muna sa bahay. Voluntary ECQ tayo, hangga&#x27;t kaya,&quot; he said.The city government will start to enforce &quot;stricter&quot; health protocols, Sotto said.&quot;Going back to our health protocols, mag-iistrikto po tayo ulit,&quot; he said.(We have to be strict with our health protocols again.)&quot;Minsan, nakakalimutan na natin, pati &#x27;yung social distancing. Naiintindihan ko naman, kasi 1 taon na tayong nandito,&quot; he said.(Sometimes we tend to forget to observe social distancing. I understand because we&#x27;ve been doing this for a year already.)&quot;Malalagpasan din po natin ito, pero kailangan magtulungan po tayo.&quot;(We will get through this but we have to help each other.)Pasig was among the Metro Manila cities that reported a surge in COVID-19 cases last week, recording at least 62 new infections between March 5 and March 11, according to data from the OCTA Research group.As of March 13, there are 513 patients battling COVID-19 in Pasig City, according to data from the city&#x27;s Public Information Office.<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1640066" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto on Monday said he is under quarantine after his driver passed away due to COVID-19.

Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto on Monday said he is under quarantine after his driver passed away due to COVID-19.

'We lost a good friend:' Vico Sotto in quarantine after driver dies due to COVID-19

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'We lost a good friend:' Vico Sotto in quarantine after driver dies due to COVID-19

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

Published March 15, 2021 11:17 AM PHT

|

Updated March 15, 2021 05:53 PM PHT

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Vico Sotto

COVID-19

Pasig

Pasig City

COVID-19 pandemic

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