Access to parts of Iligan village cut off to stem local coronavirus transmission

Police roves along Puroks Gumamela (left part) and Adelfa (right) in Barangay Mahayahay, Iligan City as Inter-Agency Task Force imposed on Wednesday (July 8) a ‘focused containment’ to these areas after recording the city’s first local transmission of COVID-19 is living here. —Divina M. Suson

ILIGAN CITY—Parts of a village here were locked down after local coronavirus transmission had been confirmed there.

Dr. Cherlina Canaveral, city health officer, said the first sign of local transmission emerged in the case of a 30-year-old man, who had been working from home between March and June when the city was still on enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).

The man was positive for SARS Cov2 in tests bankrolled by the company he worked for.

The man was a resident of a community called Purok Adelfa at the village of Mahayahay. He had stayed at home except on June 15 when he had to go to the town of Lala, Lanao del Norte for a work-related trip.

On July 1, the employer of the man required all its workers to report to the company’s Cagayan de Oro office for tests.

Test results for the man came out on July 5, positive for coronavirus.

Canaveral said contact tracing and verification by the Iligan government became difficult. “The origin as to where and when the patient was infected could no longer be traced,” she said at a press briefing on Wednesday (July 8).

“This is the reason we recorded the case as the first local transmission in the city,” said Canaveral.

She said the patient has colds, one of the symptoms of COVID-19, and had been quarantined.

Cañaveral added that health workers are now hunting persons who had come into contact with the patient while eight persons, including the man’s senior citizen parents, are now on quarantine.

“We have no problem dealing with them. They are cooperative,” said Rey Manzanero, a village councilor of Mahayahay. “We are monitoring them in case they needed to buy something outside,” he said.

Village chair Joel Labandero said authorities were still hunting for at least 50 senior citizens who had been to the patient’s house last Sunday (July 5).

Labandero said the patient’s mom is treasurer of the village’s senior citizens’ group and benefits due the group members were released on July 5.

Authorities are still in search of other people who had been to the patient’s house and talked with his parents.

Iligan City Administrator Leony Roy Ga said two communities in Mahayahay—Gumamela and Adelfa—had been on lockdown since July 8. No one is allowed to come in or out of the places during the lockdown.

He said city workers had been told to take care of the needs of the communities. Their tasks included running errands if anybody in the two locked down places needed to buy essential goods.

“We will not allow anyone to go out or get inside,” said Ga.

The city’s InterAgency Task Force (IATF) could exempt from the lockdown those who have emergency medical conditions and those who needed to have dialysis.

Ga said the local government would bring food to at least 200 families stuck in their homes.

Col. Michael Pareja, Iligan City police director, asked residents to cooperate.

“We have arrested several people because they don’t wear face masks,” said Pareja.

“So, please follow simple health protocols for your safety,” Pareja added.

TSB