MANDAUE CITY, Cebu – A 70-year-old man is the first mortality here due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), the Department of Health (DOH)-Central Visayas reported on Wednesday night.
Dr. Jaime Bernadas, DOH-7 regional director, said the patient “expired due to severe acute respiratory disease due to Covid-19 pneumonia.”
“He also has existing medical conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease,” he said.
Cebu City remains the locality with the highest number of fatalities with six, two from Negros Oriental, and one from Talisay City in Cebu province.
The DOH-7 also recorded 144 additional confirmed Covid-19 cases in Central Visayas, with all cases in Cebu Island and the highest tested in Cebu City with 123 persons from the Cebu City Jail and 16 patients from five different barangays and in a city government office.
Coronavirus infection in Lapu-Lapu City rose to 18 after the five new cases discovered in Wednesday’s tests. This city’s confirmed cases remain at nine, three from Cebu province, four from Negros Oriental.
Apart from the female Chinese tourist infected with the virus last January, Bohol still has “zero Covid-19 transmission” while Siquijor is recognized to be the only province in the region to be coronavirus-free.
The new positive cases emerged from the 442 test results released by the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center Sub-National Laboratory, Bernadas said on Wednesday.
“The increase in cases seen today (April 22) is a reminder of the importance of social/physical distancing in facilitating or preventing the transmission of infection,” Bernadas said.
He said that when a high volume of people is confined in a small space, the highly communicable disease can easily be transmitted from an index case to one’s close contacts.
Bernadas assured inmates and their families at the Cebu City Jail that the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, the local government, and the DOH-7 have been working together to test, isolate and treat those who are infected, he said.
“We appeal to the families of people deprived of liberty (PDLs) to stay in your homes. We assure you that measures are now being done to prevent further spread of Covid-19 and your loved ones are managed accordingly,” he said. (PNA)