VILLAGE LOCKDOWN. Photo shows the municipal hall of Miag-ao, Iloilo. Two villages in the town were put on lockdown last March 27 and April 5, 2020, respectively, after recording one case each of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). (PNA photo by Gail Momblan)
ILOILO CITY – The local government of Miag-ao on Sunday locked down a village in the town after a 94-year-old resident tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
The Department of Health-Center for Health Development in Western Visayas bulletin said the male patient has pneumonia and currently admitted to a hospital in this city.
Miag-ao Mayor Macario Napulan told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Monday that he ordered a 14-day lockdown in the village where the patient resides.
The mayor, however, did not disclose the name of the village to protect its residents from any form of discrimination.
“We already coordinated with the village officials and the residents there to inform them of the protocol. We have the Philippine National Police and the Philippine Army to also oversee the situation,” he said.
During the lockdown, no residents of the village will be allowed to leave their houses.
The local government unit has assigned liaison officers to have the needs of the residents bought in the pharmacies and grocery stores.
“The liaison officers will be the ones to buy their needs and deliver it to their doorstep,” Napulan said.
The Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office (MSWDO) has also conducted its assessment to around 200 households in the village for food assistance.
Napulan said the village and the compound where the patient resides have undergone disinfection.
To date, Miag-ao town has recorded two Covid-19-cases. The first case was a 22-year-old female who tested positive for the disease last March 27.
Napulan, also a doctor, said a local transmission cannot yet be confirmed in the municipality since the two cases are not connected with each other.
“The first positive case surely has not infected the second positive case,” he said, adding their villages are eight kilometers apart.
The 94-year-old patient, who has no travel history, might have been infected by any of his family members.
Napulan said more than 10 of his family members are scheduled to undergo Covid-19 testing on Monday.
“That will determine also the local transmission. There are other possibilities, that the patient might have caught the virus when he was admitted to the hospital,” he said.
Napulan said the patient started coughing last March 10. He was brought for consultation at the Rural Health Unit on March 24, proceeded to a government hospital for admission on the same day and was discharged on March 28.
Last March 30, the patient experienced difficulty breathing and was brought to a private hospital in this city.
His swab sample was collected last April 1 and the positive result was released last April 4.
Meanwhile, the 22-year-old female patient is currently well and awaiting repeat Covid-19 testing.
The village where the female patient resides was also put on lockdown since March 27.
Three of the close contacts of the female patient already tested negative of the disease.
“We are awaiting more results, and if it turns out negative, we can lift the lockdown,” Napulan said.
Currently, the town has 431 persons under monitoring –391 have completed their home quarantine, 40 still on close monitoring, and two persons under investigation (PUI).
The mayor continues to urge the locals to wear face masks in public places and strictly follow the physical distancing protocols.
The locals are also advised to remain calm as the government is on top of the situation, he said. (PNA)
