Barangay on lockdown as Zamboanga City registers first COVID-19 case

MANILA, Philippines – The entire Barangay Sinunuc in Zamboanga City was placed on lockdown after officials confirmed the first COVID-19 case in the city on Tuesday.

According to the city task force assigned to handle COVID-19 issues, the patient, a 29-year-old male, arrived from Metro Manila last March 13 — before domestic flights from the capital region were stopped as part of a community quarantine.

He sought medical assistance last March 16 after experiencing mild symptoms.

In a press conference late Tuesday night, Zamboanga City Mayor Maria Isabelle “Beng” Climaco said the Department of Health (DOH) and city health officials had been sent to brief the patient and his family, as law enforcement groups enforced a lockdown on Barangay Sinunuc, where the patient lives.

“But we will follow the protocols of COVID-19 patients, that’s why the Department of Health and the city health [office] has sent a team to minister to the patient, as well as to the family members,” Climaco said.

“I have spoken to the barangay chairperson of Barangay Sinunuc. We will have a lockdown, a community quarantine of the entire Barangay Sinunuc, and we will not allow the entry or exit of people to contain the spread of COVID-19,” she explained.

As of Tuesday, Mindanao was still not included in areas under an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).

However, figures from the Department of Health show a steady increase in the number of COVID-19 patients, with 552 confirmed cases, 35 of whom have already died and 20 have recovered.

Worldwide, over 370,000 COVID-19 cases have been recorded, of whom 16,228 have died and 97,677 have recovered.

READ: Luzon now under ‘enhanced community quarantine’ – Palace

READ: Coronavirus cases in PH jump to 552; 2 more deaths recorded

COVID-19 is a respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus that first emerged in Wuhan City in Hubei province in China in late 2019.

The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses named the novel coronavirus as SARS-CoV-2.

The coronavirus is a family of viruses with surfaces having a crown-like appearance. The viruses are named for the spikes on their surfaces.

/atm