TUGUEGARAO CITY –– The remote island town of Calayan in Cagayan province registered its first-ever case of COVID-19, officials said Wednesday, June 9.
The infection has forced authorities to impose a 14-day strict quarantine for the close contacts of the patient, who is the son of an incumbent town councilor.
It was not immediately known how the patient contracted the virus or if he had traveled outside the province.
The patient was taken to the town’s hospital and was isolated.
In an interview, Mayor Joseph Llopis said those entering Calayan would need to present a negative result of antigen or reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction tests to avoid more cases.
He said the Calayan infirmary was prepared to serve as a quarantine facility.