NEW CASES. The provincial capitol of Leyte province in Tacloban City. The Department of Health has confirmed on Tuesday (June 2, 2020) three new cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in Leyte province as more residents and overseas Filipino workers return home. (PNA file photo)
TACLOBAN CITY – The Department of Health (DOH) has confirmed three new cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in Leyte province as more residents and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) return home.
In a virtual press briefing on Tuesday, DOH Regional Director Minerva Molon said the new case in Abuyog town is a 35-year-old female OFW who arrived on May 27 via Air Asia flight. This is the first case in Abuyog.
In Baybay City, the local government recorded its second case who is a 33-year-old female migrant worker who arrived on May 25 via Philippine Airlines aircraft.
She was on the same flight with other two OFWs who turned positive of Covid-19 from Hilongos and Tanauan towns.
“We have to find out why they turned positive even if they have already tested negative of the virus before their flight back home,” Molon said.
Health workers in Metro Manila took the swab samples of these OFWs in early May when they returned from their host countries. The results were released after two weeks or a few days before their flight back to the province.
Leyte has been recording new cases last week following the arrival of students and workers displaced by the pandemic in Metro Manila and the repatriation of OFWs.
The DOH also reported a third case in Burauen town, a 41-year-old male with no travel history and no known close contact with an infected person.
The local government took his swab sample after he was found reactive of rapid tests done by privately-owned Divine Word Hospital (DWH) in Tacloban City.
The DWH requires all patients and their companions to undergo Covid-19 test at their laboratory.
“The new patient in Burauen was a watcher of a patient who was admitted at DWH due to an illness not related to respiratory and Covid-19. Our information about the new case in Burauen is very limited. We still have to find out how he caught the virus,” Molon added.
On April 17, DOH reported the first case in Burauen town. The second case was documented a week after. Both of them were categorized as fully recovered on May 23.
Leyte provincial health officer Lesmes Lumen dismissed fears over rising cases of coronavirus after several weeks of the absence of an active case.
“No need to panic since all patients are asymptomatic and they have been confined in isolation centers established by local government units. They have no interaction with their families and communities,” Lumen told reporters.
As of Tuesday, the province has 11 active Covid-19 cases with three from Burauen, two from Baybay City, two from Tanauan, and one each from Hilongos, Tolosa, Abuyog, and Jaro towns.
With new confirmed cases from Leyte, the number of infected persons in the region rose to 43 with 31 from Samar provinces and one from Catarman, Northern Samar.
The majority or 29 cases were documented in the town of Tarangnan, Samar.
The health department said local government units in the region have been preparing for possible additional cases due to the repatriation of OFWs and the return of locally stranded individuals.
Municipal and city quarantine centers have been set up in different areas while local health workers have been trained on contact tracing, taking swab samples, and managing infectious diseases. (PNA)
