TACLOBAN CITY –– Two more persons died of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Eastern Visayas, bringing the death toll in the region to 79 as of Thursday.
The two latest fatalities in the region involve a 42-year-old woman from Guiuan town, Eastern Samar, who died last Nov. 14, and an 83-year-old man from Catarman, Northern Samar, who passed away on Nov. 17.
The region’s total COVID-19 cases have reached 8,089 with 7,296 recoveries, according to the Department of Health.
Palo Mayor Frances Ann Petilla, president of the mayors league in Leyte province, said the provincial inter-agency task force has recommended a moratorium on the return to the province of the locally stranded individuals for December.
The move was intended to give all local governments time to prepare their quarantine facilities, which are mostly occupied now.
They also asked the Department of Education to allow the local governments to use public schools as quarantine facilities “beyond December 31, 2020.”