CA justice, wife catch COVID-19

TUGUEGARAO, Philippines — A justice of the Court of Appeals (CA) and his politician wife have tested positive for COVID.

Cagayan provincial board member Mila Catabay-Lauigan announced on social media yesterday that she and her husband, Justice Raymond Lauigan, are recovering from the virus.

Lauigan said she experienced sore throat, fever, headache and body pains. Her husband manifested mild symptoms of the virus.

They tested positive on April 1 and decided to extend their quarantine for another two weeks.

Aside from the Lauigans, their househelper also contracted the virus.

The judge attended an awarding ceremony at the regional police office in this city on March 22.

Voluntary swab tests

Swab tests at airports and seaports in Negros Occidental remain voluntary for inbound travelers as the provincial government is waiting for the reply of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases on its request to make the test mandatory due to rising COVID cases.

Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson asked the IATF to require swab testing for inbound travelers to prevent the spread of the disease.

Juan Jovian Ingeniero, regional director of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, said Lacson’s request does not conform with the uniform health protocol imposed by the national government.

Lacson said that in the mean time, travelers would not be required to undergo swab tests and quarantine upon arrival.

As of Monday, the province had 793 active COVID cases, including 305 in Bacolod City.

Other local government units - Candoni, Hinobaan, La Castellana, Manapla, Moises Padilla and Salvador Benedicto – have no active cases, according to the provincial incident management team.

First COVID-19 death

As this developed, the municipal government of Lagawe in Ifugao recorded its first COVID-related death on Tuesday.

The fatality is a 34-year-old woman from Barangay Poblacion who tested positive for the virus on March 24.

She was brought to the isolation facility after her test results came out on March 29. She had mild symtoms at the time.

When her symptoms worsened, she was brought to the Panopdopan District Hospital in Lamut town on March 31.

As of Monday, Lagawe recorded eight new cases, bringing the total number to 922.

Meanwhile, the island province of Batanes logged its 10th confirmed case yesterday.

The provincial government announced on social media that the latest case is a 33-year-old man, who arrived at the Basco Airport on board a Philippine Airlines flight on March 20.

The patient, a native of Uyugan town, was supposed to complete his 14-day quarantine period on Sunday.

He started showing symptoms on March 28 and underwent swab test.

He was brought to the provincial quarantine facility where four more active cases are undergoing quarantine. – Gilbert Bayoran, Artemio Dumlao, Eva Visperas, Ric Sapnu