On 2nd day of testing, Central Visayas has no new COVID-19 cases

CEBU CITY, Cebu, Philippines – Twenty-five new tests yielded negative results for the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 in the Visayas on Tuesday, March 31.

This is the second day that the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC), a subnational laboratory certified and designated by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine to conduct COVID-19 tests, reported no new cases.

The region’s number of COVID-19 fatalities, however, increased by one, bringing the number of deaths in Central Visayas to six.

Dr. Jaime Bernadas, director of the Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7), did not elaborate on the identity of the latest fatality in Cebu City.

He also did not confirm nor deny reports that the fourth fatality in the city was a doctor.

In a post on Facebook on Tuesday, Dennis Thomas Tudtud confirmed the death of his father, Dr. Dennis Ramon Tudtud, 68. Tudtud said his father died due to complications related to COVID-19.

Dennis Ramon, an oncologist, died of  COVID-19 on Monday, three days after his wife, Dr. Helen Tudtud, also a physician, likewise lost in the fight against the disease.

The Tudtuds’ home in Talamban, Cebu City, has been cordoned off to the public since last week. Police are guarding their house to prevent people from going near them.

“The DOH-7 joins the families of those who died in prayer. We emphasize that the virus that affected their loved ones should not be used to discriminate and stigmatize those that they have left behind,” said Bernadas in a statement.

As of March 31, Central Visayas has 30 persons with COVID-19. Of this, 20 are in Cebu City, two in Lapu-Lapu, and one patient each in Mandaue City, Talisay City, and Cordova town.

Bohol, on the other hand, has one COVID-19 case, while Negros Oriental has four.

/atm