LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines —Seven Naga City residents, who had close contact with locally stranded individuals (LSIs) from Naic town in Cavite, tested positive for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on Sunday, according to the Department of Health (DOH).
This is on top of the two other contacts, who on Saturday tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19.
These new cases bring the total number of known cases in the city to 19. The Bicol region now has 108.
Naga City’s new cases were contacts of patients tagged Bicol#91 and Bicol#92, who arrived in Naga City on June 14.
One of the two returnees experienced symptoms after two days under home quarantine, prompting officials to conduct rapid tests, in which both LSIs have tested positive.
Their swab tests or the test using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machine turned out positive on June 25.
On Saturday evening, Naga City Mayor Nelson Legacion sent a request to President Rodrigo Duterte, DOH, and the Department of Interior and Local Government to suspend the return of LSIs as the city copes with low resources and new active cases of COVID-19.
In the letter, Legacion said the Bicol Medical Center (BMC) is already in full capacity as of Saturday (June 27).
“Though we care for our returning Nagueños, the cuty needsd time to cope up with the emerging cases of COVID-19,” he said, adding that the city needs to set-up border control and additional health care resources.