ZAMBOANGA CITY—Basilan Gov. Jim Salliman-Hataman has ordered the lockdown of one village in Tipo-tipo town after a resident there tested positive for SARS Cov2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, the province’s first COVID-19 case.
Hataman said the patient is a 47-year-old man who is suffering from diabetes and an advanced stage of a chronic kidney disease, and is on dialysis.
Health workers have been deployed to the town for contact tracing, especially for immediate members of the patient’s family.
Results of the first test on the patient made in Lamitan City showed he was positive for coronavirus.
He was brought to the Zamboanga City Medical Center (ZCMC) and tested again and was found positive a second time on Wednesday (May 27).
Dr. Justin Elfred Paber, ZCMC spokesperson, said the patient has since been confined in the hospital.
The local government of Tipo-Tipo has issued an advisory urging residents to stay at home for their own safety.
Hataman said authorities have yet to determine when and where the patient contracted the virus.