Ecija loses another patient to COVID-19

TALAVERA, Nueva Ecija — The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has claimed the life of a 63-year-old man here on Friday, July 3.

Nueva Ecija’s Patient 76 is the province’s fourth fatality, said Mayor Nerivi Santos-Martinez.

Patient 76 was fetched by relatives from Metro Manila on June 4. she said.

“They managed to return home without the proper documentation because, at the time, travel restrictions along the way to Nueva Ecija have been eased under a general community quarantine. Their arrival here was not reported to the barangay (village) nor to the municipal hall so his condition had not been monitored,” Martinez said.

Patient 76 visited two health clinics and was confined at a hospital from June 19 to 23., Martinez said the patient was admitted at a hospital in Cabanatuan City on June 29 where he died on July 2. His remains were immediately cremated, she said, and his neighborhood had been locked down for disinfecting and to test people with whom he had contact.

Dr. Yolanda Lucas, municipal health officer, said the man had been suffering from coronary heart disease when he was infected.

Of the 76 recorded COVID-19 cases in Nueva Ecija, eight are active patients. Around 64 patients have fully recovered, although four have died. ARMAND GALANG