ILOILO City – As of noon today, the island of Guimaras remains the only province in Western Visayas with no confirmed case of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
One patient under investigation (PUI), however, was waiting for laboratory test results as of April 7, according to the provincial government.
It also reported having 23 persons under monitoring (PUMs) as of Tuesday. These were in the municipalities of Buenavista (15), Jordan (3), Nueva Valencia (1), San Lorenzo (4), and Sibunag (0).
Since March 9 when President Rodrigo Duterte declared a state of public health emergency due to COVID-19, Guimaras and Antique were the only provinces in Region 6 with no confirmed cases of the
disease.
This changed on April 7, however, when the Department of Health Region 6 announce the positive test result of a man working at the Semirara Mining and Power Corp. in Semirara Island, Caluya,
Antique.
The man, 74, was actually not an Antiqueño but a native of Parañaque City in Metro Manila. Diabetic and asthmatic, he was taken to a hospital and in stable condition as this was being written./PN
