ILOILO City – A resident of Parañaque City, Metro Manila became the first confirmed case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the province of Antique.
The patient, a 74-year-old male, worked with the Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) in Semirara Island in the island municipality of Caluya, Antique.
SMPC operates a coal mine in Semirara Island.
Caluya’s Mayor Rigil Kent Lim was saddened by the development but lost no time convening his Municipal Inter-Agency Task Force to curb the spread of the disease in his municipality.
He issued Executive Order No. 25 declaring a temporary lockdown of Semirara Island.
Travel to and from Semirara Island has been halted.
Antique’s first COVID-19 case is Western Visayas’ 35thcase and one of two new cases in the region reported by the Department of Health (DOH). The other was a 25-year-old female from Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo.
The man, diabetic and asthmatic, was taken to a hospital and in stable condition as this was being written.
Contact tracing had been launched, according to Dr. May Ann Sta. Lucia, DOH Region 6 spokesperson.
In a statement, Antique’s Gov. Rhodora Cadiao said the patient arrived in Semirara Island by private plane on March 9.
Semirara Island is 159 kilometers from mainland Antique.
After experiencing fever and shortness/difficulty of breathing on March 19, the man had himself checked at the Semirara Mining and Power Corp. Hospital.
Specimen was collected from him on April 2 for COVID-19 testing at the Western Visayas Medical Center (WVMC) in Iloilo City.
“The local government unit (of Caluya) and other stakeholders were already appraised and coordinating accordingly with the provincial government. Contract tracing and active case finding is now being conducted by the Municipality of Caluya in Barangay Semirara,” Cadiao said.
Mayor Lim of Caluya said three barangays in Semirara Island – Semirara, Tinogboc and Algeria – agreed to close their borders.
He urged his constituents to pray, unite and not panic.
“We can work harder and focus more on our actions if we will take courage to fight this pandemic. Without knowing who our enemies are, we need to follow the local policies and interventions to be safe,” Lim said.
He also described SMPC as a “potent partner” in stopping COVID-19 from spreading in Semirara Island.
As of April 7, Western Visayas has 36 COVID-19 cases.
The most common symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, tiredness, and dry cough.
Some patients may have aches and pains, nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat or diarrhea. These symptoms are usually mild and begin gradually. Some people become infected but don’t develop any symptoms and don’t feel unwell.
Most people (about 80 percent) recover from the disease without needing special treatment, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Older people, and those with underlying medical problems like high blood pressure, heart problems or diabetes, are more likely to develop serious illness.
People can catch COVID-19 from others who have the virus. The disease can spread from person to person through small droplets from the nose or mouth which are spread when a person with COVID-19 coughs or exhales.
These droplets also land on objects and surfaces around the person. Other people then catch COVID-19 by touching these objects or surfaces, then touching their eyes, nose or mouth./PN
