5 caregivers of COVID-19 patients in Eastern Visayas get the virus

TACLOBAN CITY –– At least five caretakers of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients in Eastern Visayas got infected with the dreaded virus.

Data from the Department of Health (DOH) show that the caretakers, who are among the 44 new COVID-19 cases in the region, came from the towns of Lawaan, Eastern Samar; and Villareal in Samar province; and Tanauan in Leyte.

In Lawaan, a 38-year-old man got the virus from his 35-year-old wife.

In Villareal town, two women, aged 53 and 54, acquired the virus after serving an 82-year-old woman.

In Tanauan, a 73-year-old woman infected her 50-year-old daughter.

All of them were confined at the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center (EVRMC) based in Tacloban City.

“It’s not alarming because they never went out of the hospital. They have a high risk of exposure since they were direct contacts of confirmed cases. They were there because their patients needed assistance,” said John Paul Roca, DOH information officer.

In Palo town, Leyte, a 62-year-old female doctor contracted the virus.

Of the 44 new cases in Eastern Visayas, Leyte province has 30 cases; Southern Leyte has five; Samar and Eastern Samar provinces have four each; while Biliran has one.

LZB