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A 1-year-old girl from Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro has tested positive for the potentially deadly novel coronavirus, becoming the province’s first recorded COVID-19 case, its governor announced today.
Governor Humerlito Dolor said that the baby’s swab was one of eight samples from the province that was processed by the Department of Health (DOH). The other seven suspected patients aged 37 to 84, tested negative for the disease, while five more are awaiting processing.
“There is sadness that I am reporting that we had the first positive COVID-19 patient,” Dolor wrote on his Facebook page this afternoon.
The child, who lives in the village of Ilaya, recently traveled to Alabang between March 5 and 12 before returning to the province.
“Because she is so young and just to confirm it further, I asked the DOH to have her specimen tested again,” the governor said, adding that her parents will also undergo testing and are currently under strict quarantine.
Dolor said that contact tracing is being carried out by the provincial and city health offices. He also reminded his constituents that tightened rules will further be enforced on travelers entering Oriental Mindoro.
Oriental Mindoro is part of Luzon’s monthlong enhanced community quarantine, which was imposed by President Rodrigo Duterte to contain the spread of the disease. The lockdown is expected to end on April 13.
Across the Philippines, meanwhile, COVID-19 cases continue to rise, with 96 new cases confirmed this afternoon, bringing the total number of cases to 803, 54 of whom have died.
