2 of Basilan’s newest COVID-19 patients returning from infection hot spot Metro Manila

ZAMBOANGA CITY–Two individuals returning after being stranded in coronavirus hot spot Metro Manila and a teenager with infected parents were added to Basilan province’s COVID-19 tally, according to a health official.

Harrybert Hadjalla, Basilan health officer, said the new cases reported on Monday (June 22) brought to six the number of COVID-19 cases in the province.

Two of the new patients were from Manila who tested positive for SARS Cov2 when they were already in Basilan, said Hadjalla, who is also vice chair of the Provincial Task Force on COVID-19.

The other patient is the son of a couple who had earlier tested positive, he said.

The boy’s father and mother were the second and third COVID-19 patients in the province, according to Hadjalla.

The boy, he said, is now quarantined in a facility run by health office of Lamitan City.

The other two new patients were a 56-year-old man from Lamitan who returned to Basilan from Metro Manila on June 17 and a 23-year-old woman from the town of Hadji Muhtamad who arrived in Basilan also from Metro Manila on June 18.

Both are now on quarantine in a hospital being run by the provincial government.

Basilan previously had only three COVID-19 patients—the boy’s parents and a 47-year-old militiaman from the town of Tipo-Tipo who is also on dialysis.

The militiaman, a member of Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Unit, and the boy’s father were supposedly for discharge but were required to stay in the Zamboanga City Medical Center for dialysis.

Hadjalla urged the people of Basilan to be vigilant and heed health protocol to stop coronavirus transmission.

“We encourage everyone to report all persons who recently travelled outside Basilan,” he said. He also urged village officials to always keep an eye on suspected cases.

Edited by TSB