OFW repatriate is latest COVID case in W. Visayas

By Emme Rose Santiagudo

A repatriated Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) from Makato town in Aklan province is the latest case of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Western Visayas on Tuesday, bringing the total of OFW repatriates infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus to 33.

In a bulletin issued on Tuesday, the Department of Health-Center for Health Development Western Visayas (DOH-CHD 6) said the new case is a 59-year-old male OFW (WV Patient No. 109).

Based on the press release of Aklan Provincial Health Office, the patient left Germany last March 18, 2020 and arrived in Cebu on March 19.

Since then, he was stranded with fellow seafarers in Cebu until May 20. His swabs were taken last May 22 where it came out positive for COVID-19.

PHO said the patient is asymptomatic from the time he arrived. He will be transferred to Dr. Rafael Tumbukon Memorial Hospital for close monitoring.

Dr. Renilyn Reyes, head of DOH-CHD 6’ Public Health Program Development, said the 33 infected OFW repatriates accounted for 30 percent of the total COVID-19 cases in the region.

As of Tuesday, the region has 109 cases with 23 active cases and 10 deaths.

 

“Out of the 109 cases, 39 or 36 percent were traced from our severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) and influenza like illnesses (ILI) surveillance; while 33 cases which is equivalent to 30 percent of the total cases are OFW repatriates,” Reyes said in an online press briefing on Tuesday.

 

Reyes said the notable increase on the total registered cases in the region can be attributed to repatriates and contact tracing cases.

 

“Ang notably gapadamo diri ang repatriates and contact tracing cases,” she said.

 

From April 9 to May 24, eight batches of OFW repatriates totaling 729 arrived in the region. They were ferried via a ship from Manila and Cebu and two batches of airline sweeper flights from Cebu to Manila and Cebu to Roxas, based on the available data of DOH-CHD 6.

According to Reyes, all 729 OFWs underwent real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing but only 58 percent or 425 laboratory results were released.

Reyes said 33 tested positive while 393 yielded negative results.  Results of the remaining 261 repatriates are still pending.

On Monday, Reyes said data available from the health department showed that 1,085 OFWs have arrived in the region.

Five batches were transported via plane and one batch via a sea vessel.

Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) has announced on Monday that 24,000 OFWs from Metro Manila will be sent home to the provinces with an estimated 8,000 persons per day transport using all modes of transportation.

The national government assured that the bulk of returning OFWs yielded negative confirmatory results and have undergone 14-day quarantine period.