Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana passed up on several relief missions for typhoon “Odette” victims after getting exposed to coronavirus disease (COVID-19)-infected individuals.

Lorenzana, in a Cabinet meeting with President Duterte on Tuesday night, Jan. 4, said four people in their household tested positive for COVID-19 which forced him to postpone his trips to Odette-hit areas in Visayas and Mindanao.

“Hindi po ako nakadalo dyan, Mayor dahil na-expose ako sa positive na COVID. Apat na tao sa bahay namin ang positive (I wasn’t able to attend these trips, Mayor, because I was exposed to COVID-positive . Four people in our house tested positive),” he told Duterte.

Lorenzana was giving updates to Duterte about the government’s efforts to help the victims of typhoon Odette when he revealed his status. It appears that Lorenzana was also in self-isolation since he only attended the meeting virtually.

The country is experiencing a surge of cases amid the threat of the highly contagious Omicron variant.

Despite this, Lorenzana said the government has sustained its relentless relief missions for Odette victims.

He said a total of 7,493 soldiers were currently deployed in Mimaropa, Western and Central Visayas, Northern Mindanao, and Caraga to help in the relief and rehabilitation operations.

There were also 769 land, 28 air, and 27 naval assets currently deployed in the affected regions

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“The mission of these vessels is to support the transportation requirements of those who are making the relief operations,” he said.

Various agencies are involved in the conduct of relief operations including the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) among others.

The Philippine Air Force managed to transport 300,000 kilograms of supplies while the Philippine Navy brought three million kilos of relief goods to the affected areas. Meanwhile, the Philippine Army delivered 21 truckloads of relief goods from various military camps.

“Patuloy na susuporta at tutulong ang AFP sa recovery and rehabilitation phase ng affected communities (The AFP will continue to support and help in the recovery and rehabilitation phase of the affected communities),” Lorenzana said.