FORMER President Joseph “Erap” Estrada was discharged yesterday from the Cardinal Santos Memorial Medical Center in San Juan, where he has been confined since March 28 after testing positive for COVID-19.
Estrada’s son, former senator Jinggoy Estrada, in an announcement on his Facebook account, said: “Our family is overjoyed to announce that our father will finally be discharged from the hospital today.
“We would like to thank everyone who prayed with us and supported us through this harrowing experience. But most of all, we would like to thank our Lord Almighty for his guidance and love through all of this, “Jinggoy added.
The elder Estrada, who turned 84 last week, was brought to the hospital after complaining of body weakness. He later tested positive for the deadly virus.
At one time, doctors put him on mechanical ventilation after his pneumonia worsened. But his condition eventually improved, and was wheeled out of the hospital’s intensive care unit.
During Estrada’s confinement, Jinggoy said they asked his doctors if they could prescribe him the controversial ivermectic anti-viral drug that they refused, saying it’s “only for animals.”
Jinggoy said his father was given a cocktail of drugs, including remdesivir and leronlimab to fight the virus.
Remdesivir, according to the Food and Drug Administration, is a broad spectrum anti-vital medication while leronlimab is an investigational product which is undergoing trials to ward off cancer, HIV and COVID-19.
