ILOILO City – The island province of Guimaras has recorded its first indigenous coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) case four months since it was placed under varying levels of community quarantine beginning March this year.
The case, announced by the Department of Health (DOH) yesterday, was a 22-year-old male from Buenavista town.
Western Visayas’ Patient No. 1,155 was a service crew at an establishment in Iloilo City, said Dr. Jessie Glenn Alonsabe, epidemiologist of DOH in the region.
Exhibiting signs and symptoms of COVID-19 such as fever and cough, the patient was confined in a private hospital here.
DOH was unsure how Patient No. 1,155 contracted SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes COVID-19.
Alonsabe said the patient was tested after showing symptoms. The result was released yesterday.
“This case is under investigation. The local government unit (of Buenavista) was already informed and contact tracing was immediately launched there and here in Iloilo City,” said Alonsabe.
It was learned that the patient went home to Buenavista twice last week – on July 15 and 16.
For four months prior to yesterday, Guimaras was the only province in Western Visayas with no indigenous COVID-19 case. It only had cases involving repatriates (either locally stranded individuals or repatriated overseas workers).
A COVID-19 case is considered indigenous if the patient had no history of travel to areas with cases of coronavirus disease and therefore likely contracted SARS-CoV-2 via local transmission (within his or her locality).
Guimaras had 32 repatriates with COVID-19 as of July 28.
Also as of yesterday, the entire Western Visayas had 1,158 cases with 16 deaths. Here’s the breakdown of cases: Aklan, six; Antique, 16; Capiz, seven; Guimaras, one; Iloilo province, 85; Negros Occidental, 46; Bacolod City, 82; Iloilo City, 73; repatriates, 842.
Seventeen new cases were recorded yesterday. These were the following:
* 25-year-old male from La Paz, Iloilo City (Patient No. 1142)
* 78-year-old female from City Proper, Iloilo City (Patient No. 1143)
* 39-year-old female from Molo, Iloilo City (Patient No. 1144)
* 40-year-old male from Lapuz, Iloilo City (Patient No. 1145)
* 53-year-old male from Lapuz, Iloilo City (Patient No. 1146)
* 31-year-old male from Roxas City, Capiz (Patient No. 1147)
* 38-year-old male from Alimodian, Iloilo (Patient No. 1148)
* 63-year-old female from Carles, Iloilo (Patient No. 1149)
* 53-year-old female from Sara, Iloilo (Patient No. 1150)
* 53-year-old female from Sara, Iloilo (Patient No. 1151)
* 54-year-old male from Panit-an, Capiz (Patient No. 1152)
* 30-year-old male from Sibalom, Antique (Patient No. 1153)
* 57-year-old female from Jaro, Iloilo City (Patient No. 1154)
* 22-year-old male from Buenavista, Guimaras (Patient No. 1155)
* 30-year-old female from EB Magalona, Negros Occidental (Patient No. 1156)
* 20-year-old male from Bacolod City (Patient No. 1157)
* 21-year-old female from Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental (Patient No. 1158)
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.
DOH advises people to do the following to protect themselves and prevent the spread of the disease: Regularly and thoroughly clean hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or wash them with soap and water. Maintain at least one-meter distance between yourself and anyone who is coughing or sneezing.
Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth.
Make sure you, and the people around you, follow good respiratory hygiene. This means covering your mouth and nose with your bent elbow or tissue when you cough or sneeze. Then dispose of the used tissue immediately.
Stay home if you feel unwell. If you have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing, seek medical attention.
If possible, avoid traveling to places – especially if you are an older person or have diabetes, heart or lung disease./PN
