Pregnant woman returning from Metro Manila gives tourist town El Nido its first COVID-19 case

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY—The town of El Nido, a globally renowned tourist destination in Palawan province, has listed its first COVID-19 case involving a 27-year-old pregnant woman who had been stranded in and returned from Metro Manila, the country’s coronavirus epicenter.

Dr. Marian Relucio, Nido health officer, said the woman arrived last July 11 aboard the MV May Lilies.

The patient was about to complete her 14-day quarantine when her rapid diagnostic test showed her to have coronavirus antibodies which prompted a more exhaustive test which showed her positive for SARS Cov2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, on Monday (July 27).

The pregnant woman was moved to the town’s isolation facility for monitoring.

Also on Monday, the town of Araceli and Puerto Princesa City recorded one new case each.

Rhealene Villarta-Fernando, a nurse and Araceli health officer, in a separate phone interview said that the town’s first COVID-19 patient is a 26-year-old man who had also been stranded in Metro Manila.

He arrived on Sunday (July 26) in Puerto Princesa City via an AirAsia flight from Metro Manila. The man is now in isolation in a facility run by the city government.

In Puerto Princesa, Dr. Dean Palanca, the city COVID-19 incident commander, in an announcement aired live on Facebook, said that a 27-year-old stranded person is the city’s newest COVID-19 patient.

The addition of a new case brings the COVID-19 tally in Palawan province to 82 with 51 recoveries and one fatality.

TSB

Tags: #COVID19PH, coronavirus Philippines, pandemic, patient, stranded, health, Palawan, El Nido, tourist destination