GUINOBATAN, Albay — Three frontliners in Albay province tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on Tuesday, according to the Department of Health (DOH) Bicol.
One of the new cases, a 56-year-old woman, was Ligao City’s first case of COVID-19.
The patient, a medical frontliner, was asymptomatic and was swabbed by Albay Provincial Health Office on Monday.
Her history of exposure was still being established, according to DOH.
Albay Provincial Health Office’s Dr. Antonio Ludovice told Inquirer that the patient was a medical secretary from Guilid village.
Meanwhile, two more cases in Legazpi City were also recorded, bringing the total cases in the city to 14.
A 28-year-old health worker, who had a history of exposure to a COVID-19 patient, started experiencing symptoms on March 30.
The department, however, did not specify what kind of symptoms the patient was experiencing.
According to DOH, she first consulted Bicol Regional Training and Teaching Hospital (BRTTH) also on Monday.
Ludovice said that the patient was from Sagpon village and works as a nurse at BRTTH.
Another frontliner from Legazpi City, a 54-year-old man, was asymptomatic but had also consulted on Monday.
The department did not specify what service the frontliner was from, but Legazpi City Mayor Noel Rosal said that he was one of the contacts traced when a frontliner from Victory Village tested positive for COVID-19.
He was in a quarantine facility as of this writing.
To date, the Bicol region has recorded 38 cases of COVID-19, 30 of whom are from Albay, seven are from Camarines Sur province, and one from Catanduanes province.
The Bicol region was not listed in the areas that may continue its Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) in the Inter-Agency Task Force’s Resolution No. 29 that was released on Tuesday.
In a post on social media, Rosal said that they will appeal on Wednesday to include the city under ECQ.
“That’s what I’m saying that we are not yet ready for General Community Quarantine (GCQ),” he said.