ILOILO City – Western Visayas has 25 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease 2019, majority of whom were returning locally stranded individuals (LSIs) from Cebu.
They brought to 228 the total number of cases in Region 6, according to Dr. Sophia Pulmones, chief of local health support division of the Department of Health (DOH) Region 6.
This was the highest number of cases detected in a day in the region; the second was on June 22 when 15 cases were recorded, Pulmones said.
Of the 25, 21 were from Negros Occidental, three were from Iloilo City and one from Bacolod City.
The 25 new COVID-positive cases recorded yesterday were the following:
* Patient No. 204 35-year-old male from La Carlota City, Negros Occidental or
* Patient No. 205 56-year-old female from San Carlos City, Negros Occidental or
* Patient No. 206 26-year-old male from Sagay City, Negros Occidental or
* Patient No. 207 27-year-old male from San Carlos City, Negros Occidental or
* Patient No. 208 23-year-old male from Escalante City, Negros Occidental or
* Patient No. 209 46-year-old male from Calatrava, Negros Occidental or
* Patient No. 210 42-year-old female from Calatrava, Negros Occidental or
* Patient No. 211 18-year-old female from Calatrava, Negros Occidental or
* Patient No. 212 24-year-old male from Escalante City, Negros Occidental or
* Patient No. 213 25-year-old male from Escalante City, Negros Occidental or
* Patient No. 214 34-year-old male from La Carlota City, Negros Occidental or
* Patient No. 215 45-year-old male from Murcia, Negros Occidental or
* Patient No. 216 43-year-old male from Murcia, Negros Occidental or
* Patient No. 217 46-year-old male from Ilog, Negros Occidental or
* Patient No. 218 47-year-old male from Calatrava, Negros Occidental or
* Patient No. 219 20-year-old male from Escalante City, Negros Occidental or
* Patient No. 220 70-year-old male from Toboso, Negros Occidental or
* Patient No. 221 55-year-old male from Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental or
* Patient No. 222 22-year-old male from Himamaylan, Negros Occidental or
* Patient No. 223 23-year-old male from Cauayan, Negros Occidental or
* Patient No. 224 24-year-old female from Binalbagan, Negros Occidental or
* Patient No. 225 18-year-old male from Bacolod City or
* Patient No. 226 61-year-old female from City Proper, Iloilo City or
* Patient No. 227 22-year-old male from City Proper, Iloilo City or
* Patient No. 228 40-year-old male from La Paz, Iloilo City or
“All of them are LSIs and majority of them are from Cebu especially those coming from Negros Occidental are from Cebu,” according to Pulmones.
DOH-6 data also revealed that 145 out of 228 total confirmed cases in Region 6 were all repatriated overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and LSIs or 63 percent.
Here’s a breakdown of the 228 cases.
* Aklan – six
* Antique – 14
* Capiz – six
* Guimaras – zero
* Iloilo province – 23
* Negros Occidental – three
* Bacolod City – 11
* Iloilo City – 20
* Repatriates – 145
Meanwhile, the breakdown of the 145 repatriates (OFWs and LSIs) is the following:
* Aklan – four
* Antique – four
* Capiz – two
* Guimaras – four
* Iloilo province – 16
* Negros Occidental – 65
* Bacolod City – 19
* Iloilo City – 31
According to Dr. Ma. Julia Villanueva, assistant regional director of DOH-6, most of the latest cases in the region were composed OFWs and LSIs.
She noted that local or indigenous cases have been sparse in the past few weeks.
“Indi naton ma-control kay may national policy nga papulion sila. It’s already a policy sang national government nga ang tanan naton nga locally stranded and OFWs dapat i-paulion na sila sa ila area of residence that’s is why nag-alabot sila subong,” Villanueva said.
With this, Villanueva appealed to the public particularly to LSIs and OFWs to comply with protocols once they arrive in the region. One of these protocols, according to Villanueva, is the 14-day home quarantine for LSIs and 14 day- facility quarantine for OFWs.
“I-comply gid ya naton nga kon may dapat i-quarantine, i-quarantine gid sang 14 days either sa facility or sa balay and then kon in case symptomatic i-report sa ila Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams (BHERTs),” Villanueva futher said.
“I-reiterate ko lang ang ka-importante sang aton BHERTs kay sila ang nakahibalo kon sin-o ang bag-ong abot sa ila area. Dapat active gid ang aton BHERTS in monitoring sa mga individual sa ila community nga bag-ong abot especially halin sa areas nga may damo nga cases,” she added.
COVID-19 is the infectious disease caused by the most recently discovered coronavirus. This new virus and disease were unknown before the outbreak began in Wuhan, China in December 2019.
People can catch COVID-19 from others who have the virus. The disease can spread from person to person through small droplets from the nose or mouth which are spread when a person with COVID-19 coughs or exhales.
These droplets also land on objects and surfaces around the person. Other people then catch COVID-19 by touching these objects or surfaces, then touching their eyes, nose or mouth./PN
