Quezon town gets its first COVID-19 case, closes exit, entry to village

LUCENA CITY—The first case of COVID-19 in Catanauan town, Quezon province led to its first lockdown order, targeting a village where the infected person was from.

In a video message on Facebook, Mayor Ramon Orfanel ordered the village of Dahican cordoned off for up to 48 hours starting on Tuesday (June 2) to prevent transmission of SARS Cov2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

People who are not from the village are barred from entering Dahican while residents are barred from leaving.

The mayor said the infected resident of Dahican was a 45-year-old woman.

He said the patient showed symptoms of COVID-19—fever, cough, cold, sore throat, difficulty in breathing—and had hypertension.

The woman had not travelled to infected places though had contact with a suspected virus carrier who came from Manila, the mayor said.

He said local health authorities are now hunting those who have had contact with the infected woman.

The mayor also ordered the continued enforcement of quarantine pass restrictions. He said the town would also continue to be on lockdown every Sunday.

He said the town is exempted from the Department of Interior and Local Government order to stop enforcement of quarantine pass requirements in areas now on general community quarantine, or GCQ.

The mayor said all Catanuan residents who are outside the town would be barred from returning until June 15 or until results of lab tests on the patient and her contacts are known.

He also suspended the trips of vans transporting passengers from Lucena City and Gumaca town.

Edited by TSB