LOCKED DOWN. Mayor Jerry Treñas in his regular press conference on Thursday (July 23, 2020) confirms that 20 houses in Bo. Obrero in Lapuz district had been locked down after three of its residents tested positive for the coronavirus disease. The three-day lockdown that will end on Friday will pave the way for contact tracing and swab testing of their close contacts. (Photo from Iloilo City Government FB live)
ILOILO CITY – A total of 20 houses in Bo. Obrero in Lapuz district has been placed on temporary lockdown after three residents of the village were tested positive for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
“The Covid team has decided for the temporary lockdown. Initially, it was 16 houses but eventually, it was expanded to 20 houses,” said Mayor Jerry Treñas in his regular press conference on Thursday.
The lockdown started on Wednesday and will end on Friday to give way to the extraction of specimens from the possible close contact of the patient who died of Covid-19 and from the two other members of his family who tested positive for the disease.
The patient who died on July 7 was an 80-year-old male admitted to a hospital on July 3 due to difficulty of breathing and on and off fever.
He was swabbed July 6 and his positive result came out on July 15.
Initially, the city government has provided each of the affected families with 10 kilos of rice each and canned goods.
The mayor said the city will provide more food assistance when necessary.
As of 2 p.m. Thursday, the Covid team has subjected 197 persons staying in 42 houses to the swab test.
As indigenous cases have been recorded in the district, the mayor reiterated the need for the public to always observe health protocols such as wearing face masks, observance of safe physical distancing, and proper washing of hands with soap and water or use of alcohol.
“The virus is there, the virus is real, the virus can kill. That is why we all have to be afraid of it,” he said.
The bulletin released on Wednesday by the Department of Health Western Visayas Center for Health Development (DOH-CHD6) showed three new confirmed cases from Lapuz district composed of 39- and 71-year-old females and a 32-year-old male.
The 39-year-old female is under home quarantine while the two are in facility quarantine.
A 23-year-old male also tested positive on July 18 and is now under home quarantine. (PNA)
