Pangasinan resident added to COVID-19 fatality list as 2 cases confirmed in La Union

SAN FERNANDO, La Union—The Department of Health has confirmed two cases of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in La Union province on Friday (Mar. 20).

Lab test results confirming the cases from the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) were released to the DOH office in the Ilocos region on Friday.

The patients are from the La Union town of Caba, but the agency did not provide any details about them.

In Pangasinan province, the Bayambang municipal government said the COVID-19 patient who died on Friday at the Lung Center of the Philippines was its resident.

The patient was tested earlier this month but results were released only on Friday, prompting doctors to require people who had contact with the patient to go on a 14-day quarantine.

Bayambang, like the rest of Luzon, is under a lockdown. “We are asking the public to remain calm and be cooperative with government efforts to contain the spread of the virus. Rest assured that we are doing everything we can to ensure the safety of everyone,” according to a statement released by the town government.

As of late afternoon on Friday, Pangasinan has recorded 1 COVID-19 case, and 15 patients under monitoring (PUI), or those with symptoms. Twelve of them had been discharged. The province has a total 49,131 persons under monitoring (PUM), or those without symptoms but had either traveled to infected places or had contact with infected persons. At least 1,548 others had completed quarantine.

Edited by TSB