Ormoc mayor gets COVID-19

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines — Ormoc City Mayor Richard Gomez confirmed yesterday that he tested positive for COVID-19.

Gomez said he is under home quarantine. He said his wife Leyte Rep. Lucy Torres-Gomez was not infected.

“I tested positive for COVID. It could be due to my exposure to multiple people because of the work I do as mayor... I will be okay. I will need a lot of rest and will have to be in isolation until I’m better. Symptoms are mild and manageable... I will go back to work as soon as doctors give the clearance. I ask everyone to continue to be vigilant and safe,” Gomez said in a statement.

Health authorities are tracing the people who have been exposed to the mayor.

In a post on Instagram on May 25, Gomez said he got his first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. It was not known if he had been fully vaccinated.

Ormoc recorded 33 COVID-19 cases yesterday.

Gomez is the sixth mayor in Eastern Visayas to have contracted the virus.

Mayor Lovely Yu of Alang-Alang in Leyte and Roland Boie Evardone of Arteche, Eastern Samar were the latest to be infected.

The Department of Health-Eastern Visayas office said the region recorded 1,443 active cases on Friday.