Arroyo declared SARS-free

President Arroyo was declared clear of any symptoms of atypical pneumonia upon her arrival yesterday from Bangkok, Thailand, after attending the special summit on Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome where the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and China discussed ways of combating SARS.

Mrs. Arroyo was examined by her own attending physicians, as well as quarantine officials in Cebu airport, where she flew directly from Bangkok.

Mrs. Arroyo will not undergo voluntary quarantine and will proceed with the rest of her scheduled activities.

After taking off at 3:30 a.m. yesterday, the President took a short nap at the Cebu Waterfront Hotel, where she had previously scheduled a command conference with the League of Barangays.

The Chief Executive shook hands with over 2,000 barangay captains representing over 42,000 barangays nationwide.

After lunch, Mrs. Arroyo flew back to Manila to resume her official activities at Malacañang.

Today, the President will join over 1,000 delegates from various organized labor groups in Labor Day celebrations at the World Trade Center along Roxas Boulevard in Pasay City.

After this, Mrs. Arroyo will fly by helicopter to the provincial capitol of Lingayen, Pangasinan for the awarding ceremonies of the annual "Pistay Dayat" competition.