ILOILO – Do not be afraid, panic or discriminate. The local government of Tigbauan is prepared to contain the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), Mayor Suzette Alquisada told her constituents.
Two seafarers in Tigbauan tested positive for the virus. They were part of the over 40 overseas Filipino workers (OFW) who recently returned to Iloilo from Cebu.
According to Alquisada, the two seamen were now in isolation at the town’s quarantine facility.
They did not have close contact with their families or any other people because from Iloilo City they went ushered straight to the quarantine facility on April 9, stressed Alquisada.
The two seafarers were a 24-year-old male (Western Visayas’ COVID-19 Patient No. 46) and a 26-year-old male (Patient No. 47). Both were asymptomatic or not showing symptoms such as fever and cough, among others.
Alquisada said the two seafarers were from Japan.
Their three other OFW companions, also residents of Tigbauan, tested negative for the virus but the local government deemed it wise to subject them to a two-week quarantine.
“Our frontliners who ushered them were prepared. They wore personal protective equipment so their health was not compromised,” said Alquisada.
Family members of the seafarers, too, observed social distancing, she added.
Alquisada urged the people of Tigbauan not to discriminate the two seafarers or their families or the healthcare frontliners at the town’s quarantine facility.
“They are our modern heroes,” said Alquisada.
As of yesterday, April 19, Western Visayas had 49 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with Iloilo province having 18, according to the Department of Health.
Of the 18 cases, one remains confined in the hospital, eight are on home quarantine while two are being quarantined in their local government-identified quarantine facility. Three cases recovered from the disease while four died.
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.
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./PN
