PAGADIAN CITY—Three recent returnees to Zamboanga del Norte were added to the province’s COVID-19 tally on Tuesday (July 7).
According to the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on COVID-19 in the province, two of the returnees came from coronavirus hot spot Cebu while the third, an overseas worker, had been stranded since March after arriving in Manila, the epicenter of COVID-19, from Taiwan.
The 30-year-old overseas worker is from Godod town. She finally returned to Zamboanga del Norte, her home province, on June 28 and was tested twice for coronavirus.
One of the two who arrived from Cebu is a 24 year-old resident of Rizal town who arrived there on June 27. He is a crewman in MV Lady of Joy which plies between the cities of Cebu and Dipolog.
On June 16, he had soar throat and anosmia, or the loss of sense of smell. He arrived in Rizal town on June 27.
The other one who arrived from Cebu is a 28 year-old resident of Labason town who traveled aboard a vessel of Cokaliong Shipping Lines on June 18.
Two days after his arrival, he experienced colds and “an altered sense of smell.”
The provincial IATF said all patients are now confined in isolation facilities.
The task force gave assurances that the three had been picked up from their ports of entry and sent directly to quarantine.
Zamboanga del Norte currently has 18 COVID-19 cases.