This is to clarify the remarks I made earlier during today’s press briefing when I said, “The President is in perpetual isolation.”

“Perpetual isolation” is a figure of speech I used to highlight the prudence exercised by the Presidential Security Group (PSG) in safeguarding the physical well-being of the President in this challenging time of COVID-19. Much as he wanted, for instance, to shake the hands of those present during his fifth State of the Nation Address, the PSG discouraged PRRD from doing so as part of precautionary measure of maintaining physical distance.

The transcript of the briefing would bear me out that I put “perpetual isolation” in proper context when I followed this remark with the sentence that “the Presidential Security Group (PSG) has done a really good job in making sure that no one really comes close to the President.” This is in reference to the social distancing of one meter to two meters health experts required us to observe as part of the minimum public health standards.