The mayor of Daanbantayan town in Cebu province yesterday announced that he tested positive for the coronavirus, shortly after meeting with the province’s other mayors and governor.
“Although I’ve tried taking care of my body, it is with a heavy heart that I tell you that I have caught COVID-19,” Mayor Sun Shimura said in Visayan, in a statement.
The 37-year-old mayor said that he had taken a rapid test on Monday, June 15 after feeling feverish for the past few days, and his results initially came out negative. Shimura then attended a mayors’ meeting in Mandaue City on June 17 to discuss the province’s response on COVID-19, which was also attended by Governor Gwendolyn Garcia.
The day after the meeting, Shimura said he experienced a fever and cough anew. He took a swab test on June 20, and his swab results came out positive the day after.
Shimura, who is currently recuperating in his home in Mandaue City, said he has coordinated with the government’s anti-COVID-19 task force so that they can take “necessary steps” on the incident. He’s also ordered his staff to disinfect Daanbantayan’s municipal hall and has ordered the suspension of operations at the mayor’s office for a week. He did not say whether his colleagues will be tested for the coronavirus.
The mayor did not explain why he chose to attend the meeting despite feeling flu-like symptoms prior.
Governor Garcia said she has “no intention to downplay” the coronavirus situation in Cebu province, where more than 3,000 have been infected in Cebu City, and at least 900 people have been infected in the rest of the province as of yesterday. Garcia said this after being seen in public without a face mask.
Earlier last week, President Rodrigo Duterte reverted Cebu City’s quarantine classification to the stricter enhanced community quarantine.
Shimura is the second Cebu town mayor to test positive for the virus, after Lapu Lapu City Mayor Junard Chan, who announced that he was COVID-19 positive earlier this month.
UPDATE: This article has been updated to include coronavirus cases in Cebu City, on top of infections logged in the rest of the Cebu province.
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