Bataan Day commemoration canceled due to COVID-19

CITY OF BALANGA — The 78th commemoration of Bataan Day (also known as Araw ng Kagitingan), which is usually held on April 9, was canceled due to the threat posed by COVID-19 to public health, Bataan Gov. Abet Garcia has said.

Garcia also appealed for factual and truthful reporting of events on COVID-19 as the province recorded its first confirmed case of the contagious disease.

The governor said the patient came from Metro Manila and visited relatives in the province.

“But the patient is now in stable condition,” he said during a press briefing on Saturday.

He added: “Let us help in providing truthful news so as not to create confusion among residents.”

Local health workers continue to do contact tracing involving the patient’s relatives.

The governor also requested all religious leaders, including those in the Catholic Church and Iglesia Ni Cristo, to cancel all large gatherings in Bataan to stop the spread of COVID-19.

The respiratory disease is caused by the novel coronavirus or SARS-CoV-2, which outbreak started in China’s Wuhan City in Hube province in late 2019.

The World Health Organization has declared COVID-19 a pandemic since it has infected more than 150,000 people and killed nearly 6,000 all over the world. The Philippines has so far confirmed 140 people with COVID-19, including 11 deaths.

People who have COVID-19 could recover since for most people, its symptoms were mild like fever and cough. But the illness could also be worse or serious for others such as pneumonia, especially for older adults and those with existing health problems.