Iligan City Vice Mayor Jemar Vera Cruz (left) tests positive for the coronavirus disease after contracting the virus from City Councilor Petronilo Pardillo (right). (File photo courtesy of the Iligan City local government unit)
ILIGAN CITY--The vice mayor, a councilor, and at least 10 police officers here were the latest patients who tested positive of Covid-19 as of Wednesday.
Iligan City Vice Mayor Jemar Vera Cruz, 58, was tagged as patient "IC326" and 249th local transmission case in the city, according to the Emergency Operations Center Health Cluster (EOCHC).
Vera Cruz was exposed to another Covid-19 patient, Councilor Petronilo Pardillo, the EOCHC said.
Pardillo is the city’s 203rd local transmission case in Iligan, local health officials said.
Vera Cruz, a former priest, said he voluntarily submitted himself on Sunday for swab testing after learning that Pardillo tested positive for the virus.
“I had direct contact with Councilor Pardillo because of his weekly radio program and the latest meeting with the department heads, which was attended also by the mayor (Celso Regencia), Pardillo himself, and the department heads (of the city government),” Vera Cruz said.
Although he is infected, Vera Cruz said, he showed no symptoms and is feeling well.
Pardillo, on the other hand, said he suspected contracting the virus from a police officer here who tested positive for the virus on August 26.
Pardillo, who remains admitted at a hospital here, said he is getting better and no longer experiencing fever and other symptoms.
"The face mask and face shield are a big help. If you want to be free from Covid, stay home. If you go out, wear face mask and face shield," he told a local radio station in the dialect on Monday.
Meanwhile, the Iligan City Police Office (ICPO) said at least 10 of its personnel were infected with the virus based on the swab test results on August 31.
ICPO said a civilian personnel and a detainee also tested positive for the virus on the same day.
Captain Zandrex Panolong, chief of police station 3, said despite the confirmed positive cases, their operation remains unhampered.
As of September 1, Iligan City logged 337 confirmed cases, 79 of which are returning overseas Filipinos and locally-stranded individuals, and 258 are local transmission cases.
Of the total cases, 196 are active, 131 have recovered, and 10 have died since the pandemic began in March. (PNA)
