Four more repatriates contract COVID-19

By Emme Rose Santiagudo

Four repatriated Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who are residents of Bacolod City, Iloilo City and Negros Occidental contracted the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), according to the Department of Health-Center for Health Development Western Visayas (DOH-CHD 6) on Thursday.

The four new cases include a 43-year-old male from Bacolod City (WV Patient No. 118); a 23-year-old male from Mandurriao, Iloilo City (WV Patient No. 119); a 30-year-old female from Molo, Iloilo City (WV Patient No. 120) and a 31-year-old female from Murcia, Negros Occidental (WV Patient No. 121).

Dr. Jessie Glenn Alonsabe, DOH-CHD 6 regional epidemiologist, said the latest patient from Bacolod City travelled to England. He returned to Manila on April 23 and was swabbed on May 8 with negative results.

Alonsabe said the patient is also a close contact of a previous confirmed case.

“May upod siya nga confirmed case sa boarding house. He arrived in Bacolod on May 20 and was tested upon arrival,” he said in an online press briefing on Thursday.

WV Patient No. 119 arrived in Manila from Dubai on March 17. The patient stayed in Cavite from May 17 to May 28.

“He was tested in Manila on May 24 where he came out negative. Upon arrival in Iloilo on May 28 he was again tested where he came out as positive for COVID-19,” Alonsabe said.

The latest case from the district of Molo (WV Patient No. 120) returned to Manila on April 19 from United States. She stayed in Manila from April 19 to May 27 before returning to Iloilo on May 28.

“She was subjected to confirmatory testing while she was staying in Manila where it yielded negative results. However, she was again tested upon arriving in Iloilo where she came out as positive for COVID-19,” Alonsabe said.

WV Patient No. 121, a resident of Murcia in Negros Occidental, had a travel history to Hong Kong.

Alonsabe said the patient arrived in Manila on May 28 and underwent testing on May 31. Her results came out negative, thus, she was allowed to go home on June 1.

Another testing was done on June 2 and was processed in the Teresita Lopez Jalandoni Provincial Hospital in Silay City, Negros Occidental where it yielded positive results.

According to Alonsabe the four OFW repatriates are currently asymptomatic and under facility quarantine.

While the four latest cases are repatriates, the health department noted that the most of them initially tested negative for COVID-19 but got stranded in Manila and tested positive when they returned to Western Visayas.

“Some of them stayed in Manila. Some of them arrived in March and April. Kadugay sang stay nila. Despite their negative results, due to their long stay, they were probably exposed again,” Alonsabe said.

As of Thursday, 36 OFW repatriates were infected with COVID-19.

The region now has 121 cases including 27 active cases, 84 recoveries, and 10 deaths.