ILOILO City – Western Visayas recorded one new case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-9) yesterday – a 55-year-old male resident of Igbaras, Iloilo – bringing to 114 the total confirmed cases in the region.
Patient 114 is asymptomatic and is being quarantined at home, said Dr. Jessie Glen Alonsabe, epidemiologist of the Department of Health (DOH) Region 6.
How the patient got infected remained unclear. He was not a repatriated overseas worker, said Alonsabe.
Patient 114 was among several residents of Igbaras who underwent COVID-19 tests recently, an initiative of Mayor Jaime Esmeralda.
Alonsabe said investigation and contact tracing had been launched.
Igbaras, 40 kilometers west of Iloilo City, is a third-class municipality with a population of over 32,000 people (as of2015 census) spread in 46 barangays.
Patient 114 also brought to 21 the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Iloilo province.
Of the 21 cases, 15 already recovered. On the other hand, there were four mortalities.
Region-wide, 81 cases have recovered; there were 10 mortalities.
Iloilo province recorded its new case while it – and the rest of Region 6 – transitioned yesterday to modified general community quarantine which further eased restrictions.
Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr., however, urged Ilonggos not to let their guard down and consistently “mag maskara (wear facemask), mag distansya (maintain physical distance from one another) and manghinaw (frequent hand-washing).”
There is still no vaccine against COVID-19, he stressed.
Here’s the breakdown of the region’s 114 cases:
* Aklan – six
* Antique – 14
* Capiz – six
* Guimaras – zero
* Iloilo province – 21
* Negros Occidental – three
* Bacolod City – 10
* Iloilo City – 19
* Repatriates – 35
Alonsabe reminded Western Visayans to continue observing health safety protocols such as maintaining physical distance from one another, wearing facemask and hand-washing.
To date, there is no specific antiviral medicine to prevent or treat COVID-2019. But possible vaccines and some specific drug treatments are under investigation. They are being tested through clinical trials.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is coordinating efforts to develop vaccines and medicines to prevent and treat COVID-19.
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 City, China in December 2019.
The most common symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, tiredness, and dry cough.
Some patients may have aches and pains, nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat or diarrhea. These symptoms are usually mild and begin gradually. Some people become infected but don’t develop any symptoms and don’t feel unwell.
Most people (about 80 percent) recover from the disease without needing special treatment, according to WHO.
Older people, and those with underlying medical problems like high blood pressure, heart problems or diabetes, are more likely to develop serious illness.
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
