1st Covid-19 death recorded in Bicol as 4 patients recover

By Mar Serrano

Dr. Ernie Vera, DOH-Bicol  regional director and Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging and Infectious Diseases chairman. (PNA file photo) 

LEGAZPI CITY -- The Department of Health (DOH)-Bicol said four new coronavirus disease (Covid-19) patients in the region have recovered and tested negative of the viral illness. However, one patient has died.
Dr. Ernie Vera, DOH-Bicol regional director, in an interview on Monday said the mortality is a 65-year-old male from Naga City.
He also said the DOH Covid-19 tracker showed that of the remaining 11 Covid-19 cases in the region, seven are still awaiting test results and in stable condition.
"The confirmed Covid cases include eight cases in Albay and three cases in Camarines Sur," he said.
DOH data indicate that there are 112 patients under investigation (PUIs) in Bicol, of whom 86 have tested negative while the rest are either still awaiting test results or have not been tested yet.
Albay has the highest number of PUIs with 53, followed by Camarines Sur-30; Sorsogon-11; Camarines Norte-8; Catanduanes-6; and Masbate-4.
Vera reiterated his call to various health authorities and local officials to step up their fight against Covid-19 by strictly implementing the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) policy.
On the possibility of declaring certain areas in Bicol under extreme enhanced community quarantine, Vera said it would depend on the epidemiological criteria determined on the basis of the rising number of cases. “It needs a thorough analysis by medical experts,” he said, adding that cases in the region have not reached that level yet.
He said to prevent the number of cases from rising, local government units have to further intensify the ECQ enforcement. (PNA)