MINDANAO Development Authority (MinDA) chair Emmanuel “Manny” Piñol bared that his nephew, who is part of the “Sagip Stranded” program of North Cotabato province, tested positive for Sars-CoV-2, the pathogen causing the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

Piñol bared on his official Facebook page Thursday, June 25, 2020, that his 20-year-old nephew named Shane Matthew Piñol is now housed at the isolation facility after his results read positive.

“He is one of the government workers involved in the ‘Sagip Stranded’ program of North Cotabato which rescued thousands of residents and OFWs from the province stranded in Metro Manila during the Covid lockdown,” Piñol said in his post.

He said that his nephew contracted the disease during the rescue mission of locally stranded individuals (LSIs) who were stranded in Metro Manila. However, he assured that after finding out that Shane is infected, he submitted himself for isolation to ensure that he will not contaminate others.

“Since he is employed by the Provincial Government, Shane lives alone in a house near the provincial capitol and was not in contact with other members of the family,” Piñol said.

Contact tracing is now being conducted to locate those people that his nephew had interacted with. Piñol said that Shane has also given the list of people he made contact with especially during his involvement in the Sagip Stranded initiative of the province.

Piñol also urged those people who have close contact with his nephew to report themselves and get tested to ensure that they are not infected.

Meanwhile, he said that Shane is already in stable condition and is now asymptomatic.