9 of 170 fishermen push Negros Oriental’s COVID-19 tally from 2 to 11

DUMAGUETE CITY—The number of COVID-19 cases in Negros Oriental province surged from just two to 11 overnight after results of tests made on 170 returning fishermen were known.

The fishermen, who had been to Palawan, returned to Negros Oriental last May 21. At least nine of them tested positive for SARS Cov2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

The number of cases was feared to further rise as results of tests on 62 of the fishermen were being awaited from Cebu.

So far, 91 of the fishermen have tested negative for coronavirus.

At a press conference on Monday (June 1), Dr. Liland Estacion, incident commander of the Negros Oriental’s COVID-19 Task Force, said of the 11 cases, three were from La Libertad town, two from Tanjay town, two from Bindoy town, one from Sibulan town, one from Ayungon town, all in Negros Oriental. One case each were recorded in Samboan and Santander towns in Cebu province.

The 170 fishermen are quarantined at the Negros Oriental High School.

Estacion said there was no case of local transmission of coronavirus because the fishermen got sick on their boat.

“All transmissions occurred in the boat,” she said.

Edited by TSB