Another Cavite resident tests positive for COVID-19; Bacoor set for lockdown

SAN PEDRO CITY – Another resident of Cavite province tested positive to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) on Wednesday.

Cavite Governor Juanito Victor Remulla said the 48-year-old male patient was a resident of Tanza town and currently confined in a local facility in the province.

Earlier today, a male resident of Bacoor City also tested positive for the virus.

The office of Bacoor City Mayor Lani Mercado said they were preparing for a city-wide lockdown and food and supplies provisions for 100,000 families.

Cavite now has six confirmed cases of COVID-19.

The Philippines has reported 202 cases of the virus that causes COVID-19, according to the Department of Health, which confirmed Tuesday that one of its officials was among those sickened. Seventeen people have died, the most in Southeast Asia.

While the virus can be deadly, particularly for the elderly and people with other health problems, for most people it causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. Some feel no symptoms at all and the vast majority of people recover.

The drastic moves announced by Duterte on Monday night caught many by surprise.

Only one member of a family can leave home to buy food, officials said, but many establishments were closed and long lines of people waited in front of supermarkets in metropolitan Manila.

Aside from the containment effort, Duterte declared all of the Philippines in a state of calamity for six months to allow a faster release of emergency funds.

Under the monthlong containment, most office work and mass public transportation on Luzon Island, which includes the capital, Manila, will be suspended, officials said. Public movement will be restricted and large gatherings banned except for medical and other emergencies.

Banks, hospitals, drugstores and supermarkets will remain open but only one family member can leave home to buy food and the establishments should observe “social distancing,” officials said.

AC