ILOILO City – A total of 7,604 Western Visayan medical and non-medical frontliners were infected with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), data (as of Aug. 18) from the Department of Health (DOH) showed.
Of these cases, 3,088 were medical frontliners while 4,516 were non-medical frontliners.
The infected medical frontliners were from:
* Aklan – 172
* Antique – 120
* Capiz – 283
* Guimaras – 47
* Iloilo province – 594
* Negros Occidental – 599
* Bacolod City – 593
* Iloilo City – 680
According to Dr. Daphynie Teorima, spokesperson of DOH Region 6, 269 already recovered while 13 died, leaving 106 active cases as of Aug. 18.
The deaths were recorded in Antique (one), Guimaras (one), Iloilo (three), Negros Occidental (one), Bacolod City (three), and Iloilo City (four).
Medical frontliners include physicians, nurses, medical technologists, radiology technologists, midwives, nursing attendant, sanitary inspector, and caregiver.
The non-medical frontliners who tested positive for COVID-19 were from these areas:
* Aklan – 329
* Antique – 54
* Capiz – 474
* Guimaras – 58
* Iloilo province – 931
* Negros Occidental – 1,278
* Bacolod City – 614
* Iloilo City – 778
These included ambulance drivers, responders, rescuers, Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams, and barangay officials, among others.
Of the total non-medical frontliners infected, 154 were active, 4,331 have recovered and 32 died, Teorima said.
The deaths were listed in Capiz (four), Guimaras (one), Iloilo province (five), Negros Occidental (eight), Bacolod City (seven), and Iloilo City (eight).
These frontliners, according to Teorima, were high risk for COVID-19 due to the nature of their work or them being close contacts of an infected household member.
“Ang aton nga barangay health workers nagalibot man sa aton community so puede gid sila malatnan,” Teorima said.
Frontliners are encouraged to avail themselves of anti-coronavirus jabs “kay amo gid ‘na ngaa priority sila nga A1,” said Teorima./PN
