NEW COVID-19 CASES. The map of Tarangnan, Samar. The Department of Health (DOH) regional office here has reported on Tuesday (April 7, 2020) that two local government employees of Tarangnan, Samar tested positive for coronavirus disease, bringing the total to five confirmed cases in Eastern Visayas. (Google Image)
TACLOBAN CITY – The Department of Health (DOH) regional office here reported on Tuesday that two local government employees of Tarangnan, Samar tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), bringing the total to five confirmed cases in Eastern Visayas.
With the two new cases, the health department confirmed local transmission in the region. The fourth and fifth cases were in contact with the region's second Covid-19 positive from nearby Calbayog City.
The fourth confirmed case is a 56-year-old female administrative officer of Tarangan Municipal Hospital and the fifth case is a 32-year-old health worker of the locally-managed health facility, said DOH Regional Director Minerva Molon in a press conference.
“Our team from the regional epidemiology and surveillance unit is in Tarangnan to do the contact tracing especially those in contact with these two new confirmed cases two days prior to the appearance of their respiratory symptoms,” Molon said.
The two manifested symptoms in the third week of March had been under strict home isolation since they are identified as patients under investigation. The DOH sent their swab samples to Vicente Sotto Medial Memorial Center in Cebu City on April 3.
On Tuesday, the DOH admitted the two patients are at the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center (EVRMC) in Tacloban City, the region’s referral hospital for Covid-19.
Molon encouraged possible contacts to come out in the open and not to be ashamed since their cooperation is crucial in stopping the wider spread of the virus in the community.
“With the recent report of our Covid-19 cases, this means that there is already a local transmission in the region, particularly in Tarangnan. I would like to put emphasis on the importance of staying at home, and observe strict home isolation if you have symptoms,” she added.
Tarangnan is a fourth class coastal town in Samar province with a population of 25,000. The town is 129 kilometers north of Tacloban City, the regional capital.
The first positive Covid-19 case in the region was a 51-year-old female from Catarman, Northern Samar who had recently traveled to Japan and Metro Manila. She has recovered and was discharged from the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center (EVRMC) in Tacloban on March 31.
The second confirmed case was a 63-year-old male from Calbayog City in Samar. He had a recent travel history to Metro Manila where he contracted the virus before returning to his hometown in Samar in early March. He is still confined to the EVRMC.
The third case is a 59-year-old male, a native of Hernani, Eastern Samar admitted to a hospital in Metro Manila where he contracted the disease.
The region has already sent 133 samples of suspected Covid-19 carriers and only four of them were tested positive for the virus. Samples of the third positive case in the region were taken in Metro Manila, according to DOH. (PNA)
