Siquijor now free of COVID-19

DUMAGUETE CITY –– The island province of Siquijor is “COVID-free” again.

The provincial government of Siquijor on Monday said the place is free from the threat of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) after all four of its patients recovered.

Siquijor Vice Governor Mei Ling Brown made the announcement immediately after its last two confirmed cases, both stranded locals, have tested negative in repeat tests.

As of August 25, the province has zero active cases, a record that it had held for seven months since the pandemic started until it reported its first case earlier this month.

All four recoveries are expected to be sent home to their families in the next few days.

Siquijor’s neighboring province of Negros Oriental, meanwhile, recorded one new case of COVID-19, assistant provincial health officer Dr. Liland Estacion said.

At a press conference Monday, Estacion said the lone new patient is a 25-year-old female from Guihulngan City in northern Negros Oriental.

Estacion revealed that the new patient accompanied a former government employee, a 40-year-old female, in going to Cebu City earlier this month.

The Guihulngan City government earlier said in a statement that the government employee “secretly” went to Cebu City. She first claimed that she had only traveled to neighboring towns inside Negros Oriental before finally admitting that she went to Cebu.

The government employee has since recovered after testing negative for the coronavirus in a repeat test. She is one of three new recoveries recorded in the province.

Estacion further noted that the new infection previously tested negative and only turned out positive for COVID-19 in a repeat test, saying that the viral load within the patient’s system may have taken a while to increase well enough to be detected in a swab test.

Negros Oriental now has a total of 123 COVID-19 cases, with 17 active, 102 recoveries, and four deaths.

LZB