Cagayan town mayor recovers from COVID

MANILA, Philippines — Mayor Carmelo Villacete of Piat, Cagayan has recovered from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Tests conducted yesterday showed that Villacete is now negative for the flu virus, Glenn Matthew Baggao, chief of the Cagayan Valley Medical Center, said.

In a post on Facebook on Thursday, Villacete said he tested positive for COVID-19 even as he asked his constituents for prayers for his recovery.

There are 22 confirmed cases in Cagayan Valley. Eleven, including Villacete, have recovered.

A 50-year-old man is the latest confirmed case in the region.

In Baguio City, a 73-year-old woman was discharged from the Notre Dame de Chartres Hospital yesterday.

 She is the oldest and fifth patient in the city who recovered from COVID-19, according to its public information office.

 A 52-year-old patient was discharged from the hospital on Friday.

The three other persons who have recovered from the flu virus in Baguio City are aged 55, 61 and 70.

Eight other patients are in stable condition in various hospitals.

No new case was reported in the city yesterday.

Pangasinan doctor dies

Meanwhile, a doctor died at the Lingayen District Hospital before dawn yesterday while waiting for the result of his test for COVID-19.

In an interview over Aksyon Radyo Pangasinan, Binmaley Mayor Simplicio Rosario said the doctor is the first person under investigation (PUI) for the flu virus in the town.

Rosario said the fatality was connected with a hospital in Lingayen.

He said tracing of people who had contact with the fatality is ongoing.

Rosario placed Plaza Rizal street in Barangay Poblacion, where the patient resided, under extreme enhanced community quarantine at noon yesterday.

There are 28 COVID-19 cases in Pangasinan, 21 of them confined in various hospitals. Seven of the patients died.

Of the 76 PUIs in the province, 46 have recovered, 20 remain confined in hospitals and 10 died.

In Tacloban City, the first fatality due to COVID-19 was recorded on Wednesday.

The 51-year-old male patient died at the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center at around 8:52 p.m. shortly after the result of his test was released, city health officer Gloria Fabrigas said.

Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez said there are 28 PUIs and 141 other persons under monitoring in the city.

In Zambales, two more persons, a 62-year-old man and a 42-year-old woman, were added to the list of confirmed cases, Arvin Antipolo, provincial interagency task force for management of emerging infectious diseases chief, said.

There are now five COVID-19 cases in Zambales. – With Eva Visperas, Miriam Desacada, Bebot Sison, Cesar Ramirez, Ric Sapnu, Artemio Dumlao