Oldest in the region to acquire the infection
TACLOBAN CITY- A 101-year old man from San Jorge town in Samar province was among the new patients from Eastern Visayas due to coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
The centenarian patient, the oldest COVID-19 patient in the region, was said to get the infection from her granddaughter who worked as a nurse, said a personnel of the town’s rural health unit (RHU) who requested not to be named.
“He is now at the Gandara District Hospital and he appears to be asymptomatic,” he said.
The Gandara District Hospital is located at the nearby town of Gandara, also in Samar.
The San Jorge RHU has been close for disinfection as some of its personnel were infected of the virus.
It was learned that the 101-year old man swab samples were among the 63 samples submitted by the RHU to the regional office of the Department of Health (DOH) last Sunday.
Of these samples, 10 turned to be positive with the result released Tuesday (Dec.1) by the DOH.
Aside from the 101-year old man, six other members of his family were also tested positive of COVID-19.
At present, San Jorge has 71 confirmed COVID-19 cases of which 39 have recovered from the dreaded virus.
Meantime, the number of persons who died due to complications caused by coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the region has now reached to 94.
On Thursday (Dec.3), health officials confirmed three new deaths from Samar provinces: an 80-year old man from San Antonio town in Northern Samar; an 86-year old woman from Villareal town in Samar; and a 37-year old man from Balangiga, Eastern Samar.
The two COVID-19 patients from Northern Samar and Samar provinces both died on November 30 while the one from Eastern Samar died on Dec.2. He was said to be an employee of the local government unit.
Meantime, Balangiga Mayor Randy Graza issued an executive order on Wednesday declaring a border lockdown to end until Dec.16.
The measure aim to prevent further spread of COVID-19 in the historic town.
With the border lockdown imposed, only few would be allowed to enter the town like the governor and vice governor and members of the provincial board; and medical and humanitarian cases, among others.
Businessmen would only be allowed to purchase their goods outside the town only once a week but need to secure a travel pass.
The town has recorded 15 COVID-19 cases.
In Baybay City, Mayor Jose Carlos Cari reported that among their new cases involved two medical health worker and a teacher who are now at their isolation facility.
The city mayor said that Baybay has now 57 total COVID-19 cases.
But despite of its increasing number, Cari assured his people that the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the city is due to their extensive contact tracing activity wherein all close contacts of positive persons are being swabbed.
He said that unlike some local government units, not all close contacts are being swabbed and were just quarantine for 14 days.
“(Our) situation here in Baybay is manageable and under control,” Cari said.
Meantime, the DOH reported that Eastern Visayas’ total COVID-19 cases now reached to 8,881 with 42 new cases.
The new cases were from Leyte with 35; three each from Samar and Eastern Samar; and one from Northern Samar. (JOEY A. GABIETA/LIZBETH ANN A.ABELLA)
