Malabon City has first coronavirus case

MANILA, Philippines – A resident of Malabon City has tested positive for the coronavirus disease, the first case for the northern Metro Manila city. 

In a Facebook post on Monday, March 23, Mayor Lenlen Oreta said that the Department of Health (DOH) reported the positive test result.

Oreta did not mention anything else about the patient, but added that contact tracing is now being done to identify the people with whom the COVID-19 case interacted. 

Also on his Facebook page, Oreta posted an infographic stating that the city also has 20 Persons Under Investigation (PUIs) and 98 Persons Under Monitoring (PUMs).

Oreta assured his constituents that it’s all right to be scared but urged them not to panic.

Oreta appealed to them to follow the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine, to remain at home, and make hand washing a habit. (READ: Malabon approves 8 pm to 5 am curfew starting March 16)

“Hindi biro ang COVID-19 virus dahil hindi natin alam kung sino ang may dala nito. Mag-doble ingat habang ginagawa natin ang CONTACT TRACING sa pasyenteng ito at inaantay ang mga resulta ng mga test na ating patuloy na ipinapadala sa Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM),” Oreta said.

(The COVID-19 virus is no joke because we do not know who has it. We should be extra careful while contact tracing for this patient is being implemented and we are waiting for the results of the tests we have sent to the RITM.)

As of Monday, the DOH confirmed 16 new coronavirus cases, bringing to 396 the total number of cases in the Philippines.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire also confirmed that the death toll due to the disease has reached 33, with 8 new fatalities recorded. The number of recoveries increased to 18. – Rappler.com