CEBU CITY – Two more Cebuanos succumbed to the novel coronavirus disease 2019 s (COVID-19) as the number of cases in the province nears the 1,000 mark.
As of Sunday (May 3) morning, the island of Cebu has a total of 985 COVID-19 cases with 13 deaths.
According to the Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7), the latest fatalities are a 39-year-old inmate from the Mandaue City Jail and an 80-year-old woman from one of the towns in Cebu province.
The inmate died at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City on May 2.
Mandaue City Jail now has a total of 10 COVID-19 cases.
The other jail facilities in Cebu had also recorded a high number of cases since last week including the Cebu City Jail which had 333 infections as of May 3.
The neighboring Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center also has 18 cases including one death.
The 80-year-old fatality, on the other hand, died last April 30 but the results of her COVID-19 test only came out on May 2.
DOH-7, however, did not specify which town the elderly patient was from but stated that contact tracing had already been initiated.
Cebu City continues to bear the brunt of the COVID-19 infections on the island with 875 cases, followed by Lapu-Lapu City (34), Cebu province (27), and Mandaue City (29).
At least 17 repatriated overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Cebu and three health workers also tested positive for COVID-19.
Both the number of infections from OFWs and health workers were not listed under a specific town and city in Cebu.
DOH-7 said these two groups of people have not really interacted with local residents of Cebu especially the newly arrived OFWs.
Healthcare workers handling COVID-19 patients are no longer allowed to go leave the facility as a protocol.
“This group (health workers) need to be separated since the contact tracing activities will be primarily done among hospital staff and interventions will be focused in the hospital setting,” said DOH-7 Director Jaime Bernadas.