Misamis Oriental town monitors 2nd case of local COVID-19 transmission

ILIGAN CITY –– A 22-year old security guard of an industrial plant here has become the second case of local coronavirus disease (COVID-19) transmission in Manticao town of Misamis Oriental.

Dr. Jocelyn Bahian, municipal health officer of Manticao, said the patient, who did not have a history of travel except for his workplace here, turned out to be the 10th confirmed COVID-19 case in the town.

As a policy in the company where he was working, swab samples were taken from him on September 9 for the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test.

But the result, which came out on September 15, turned out positive for SARS-CoV2, the virus that causes COVID-19, Bahian said.

She added that the security guard had been living in an apartment in Barangay Tomas Cabili here and used to go home regularly twice a month in Manticao before his RT-PCR test, Bahian said.

The patient went home to Manticao on September 12, riding a green Bajaj tricycle bound for Cagayan de Oro.

Bahian said the patient remained asymptomatic and had been isolated at the Ligtas COVID-19 center in Manticao immediately after the release of the PCR test result.

On September 10, a 24-year old job applicant in this city also tested positive for COVID-19, turning out to be the first local transmission case in Manticao town.

The company, where he was applying for a job, required an RT-PCR test before hiring, and his test results turned out to be positive for COVID-19.

The job seeker, who remained asymptomatic, has been admitted at the municipal’s isolation facility for the 14-day quarantine.

ZB