CEBU CITY, Philippines (UPDATED) – The Department of Health (DOH) Central Visayas said Saturday, March 28, that the number of positive cases in Cebu City was up to 18 from 16. 

Another case was confirmed in Lapu-Lapu City, bringing the total number of confirmed there to two. 

The DOH in the region confirmed these latest coronavirus infections in a text message to reporters late Saturday evening.

This brings the total number of coronavirus infections in the region to 22 since testing of persons under investigation (PUI) began late January.

The DOH Region VII reported two deaths in Cebu so far.



Here is breakdown of cases of COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, in other areas in Central Visayas.

• Cebu Province: 

Female, 27 years;  


• Mandaue City: 

Male, 56; 


• Lapu-Lapu City: 

Male, 70; 


• Negros Oriental: Male, 64 (died on March 15); female, 61 (died on March 23). 



A 60-year-old patient from China, who was admitted in an undisclosed hospital in the region, has recovered.




“Of the 229 individuals tested, there were 19 who tested positive for COVID-19,” DOH Central Visayas Director Dr Jaime Bernadas said in a statement.

“The spike in the number of cases is expected when an additional laboratory becomes operational, with the increase in testing capacity of the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC),” he added.

VSMMC began local testing on March 20. According to Bernadas, the local lab has a capacity of testing 20 to 25 a day.

About 20,000 test kits were allocated for Cebu City and another 20,000 for the rest of the VIsayas.



Iloilo City has also begun localized testing in the Western Visayas with 5,000 test kits allocated for the province.

Cebu City began its lockdown, or enhanced community quaranatine, on Saturday, March 28. – Rappler.com

(Editor’s note: In an earlier version of this story, the headline was ‘Of 19 new coronavirus cases in Western Visayas, 16 from Cebu City.’ This has been corrected.)