By Joseph B.A. Marzan
A two-month-old male infant from Moises Padilla town in Negros Occidental is the region’s youngest coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) case so far, the Department of Health-Center for Health Development Western Visayas (DOH-CHD-6) confirmed on Thursday.
The baby (WV Patient No. 344) is a Locally-Stranded Individual (LSI) who arrived from Manila with his family on June 21, according to Dr. Renilyn Reyes of DOH-CHD-6.
Reyes said the test results of the baby’s family and other companions have yet to be released.
“This is the preliminary information we have as of now. We are still looking at the results because for this batch, the results of his family members who returned with him from Manila haven’t been recorded yet. We’ll be giving updates,” Reyes said.
DOH-CHD-6 reported 21 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, with one local case and 20 repatriates.
The local case is a 52-year-old male from Santa Barbara, Iloilo (WV Patient No. 336), who was also diagnosed with co-morbidities such as hypertension and diabetes. While he had no travel history to high-risk areas like Cebu and Metro Manila, he reportedly travelled to Iloilo City and Pavia town.
The DOH-CHD-6 is now coordinating with the Iloilo provincial government for contact tracing.
Santa Barbara Mayor Rema Somo also confirmed the new case in a radio interview, saying that the municipal government is also conducting contact tracing.
The patient has been admitted to an unnamed hospital as of this writing.
Apart from the infant, LSIs make up the bulk of the latest batch of confirmed COVID-19 cases:
– 26-year-old female from Igbaras, Iloilo (WV Patient No. 334);
– 23-year-old female from Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo (WV Patient No. 335);
– 38-year-old male from San Lorenzo, Gumaras (WV Patient No. 337);
– 67-year-old female from Leganes, Iloilo (WV Patient No. 338);
– 29-year-old female from San Joaquin, Iloilo (WV Patient No. 339);
– 30-year-old female from San Joaquin, Iloilo (WV Patient No. 340);
– 21-year-old female from Himamaylan, Negros Occidental (WV Patient No. 341);
– 33-year-old female from Calatrava, Negros Occidental (WV Patient No. 342);
– 57-year-old female from Himamaylan, Negros Occidental (WV Patient No. 343);
– 53-year-old male from Sagay City, Negros Occidental (WV Patient No. 345);
– 22-year-old male from Escalante City, Negros Occidental (WV Patient No. 346);
– 26-year-old female from Escalante City, Negros Occidental (WV Patient No. 347);
– 28-year-old female from Cadiz City, Negros Occidental (WV Patient No. 348);
– 14-year-old female from Sagay City, Negros Occidental (WV Patient No. 349);
– 50-year-old male from Cauayan, Negros Occidental (WV Patient No. 350);
– 64-year-old male from Escalante City, Negros Occidental (WV Patient No. 351);
– 52-year-old female from Hinobaan, Negros Occidental (WV Patient No. 352); and
– 66-year-old female from Cadiz City, Negros Occidental (WV Patient No. 353).
They are currently under facility quarantine.
Only one Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) tested positive – a 36-year-old male from Mina, Iloilo, who is currently under facility-based quarantine.
A total of 527 test results were released on Thursday, with 505 yielding negative results and one repeat RT-PCR test with positive finding.
As of July 2, 2020, Western Visayas has a total of 353 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 194 active cases, 148 recoveries, and 11 deaths.
