LEGAZPI CITY — The Department of Health (DOH) in Bicol reported Saturday that two more health workers have contracted the coronavirus.
A 48-year-old female nurse from Daraga town, who was tagged as Bicol#58, and a 27-year-old male healthcare facility utility worker from Ligao City, who was tagged as Bicol#59, have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
The two new patients bring the total of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Bicol to 59, 19 of which are healthcare workers.
According to DOH, both patients have been exposed to other COVID-19 patients.
Both patients have not shown symptoms as of this writing, but they were both swabbed as the region conducts targeted testing, in which health workers who have been exposed to confirmed cases are prioritized.
“The healthcare workers who have been tested are from the COVID-19 areas as a requirement for them,” Kenn Brian Perez, Bicol Regional Training and Teaching Hospital (BRTTH) health education and promotion officer, told Inquirer.
He said that tests were made to check the health workers’ status before they leave their duties for quarantine.
He said those who were tested were recommended by infectious disease specialists and were based on the risk of their exposure.
“They are asymptomatic but (testing) depends on the risk level of exposure,” he said.