Lapu’s first COVID-19 recovery given warm welcome

CEBU CITY, Philippines — A warm welcome and well wishes greeted Lapu-Lapu City’s first patient to recover from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as he comes home to Barangay Babag this Palm Sunday, April 5.

In a Facebook post, Lapu-Lapu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer Nagiel Bañacia shared photos of the warm welcome of the 70-year-old man.

“Welcome home,” and “We are happy to have you back,” are among the greetings written and held up by his neighbors as they waited along the road leading to the recovered patients home.

A community in Barangay Babag in Lapu-Lapu City welcomed their neighbor, a 70-year-old man, a COVID-19 recovery case, who has returned home on Sunday, April 11. | Photo courtesy of LLC DRRMO Nagiel Bañacia

The now-recovered patient, who had been tagged as CV-08-LL, is among the two new recoveries from COVID-19 that were announced by the Department of Health in Central Visayas on Saturday, April 4.

With the recovery of CV-08-LL, there is now only one active confirmed case of COVID-19 in the city.

Read more: Lapu-Lapu City reports first COVID-19 recovery; no new case for CV

For the entire region, the DOH-7 reports a total of 34 cases of COVID-19 since the start of the monitoring and surveillance for the pandemic. The number includes 22 from Cebu City with four deaths and five successful recoveries; 4 from Negros Oriental with two deaths and one recovery; three in Cebu province with one recovery; and two each in Lapu-Lapu City and Mandaue City with one recovery each.

Read more: ‘Happy, not comfortable yet’ on COVID-19 developments in the region — DOH-7

Dr. Jaime Bernadas, DOH-7 director, has also reminded the public being complacent although they are happy with the recent developments of the COVID-19 battle in Cebu.

Meanwhile, Bohol province, last January, has also recorded a COVID-19 positive tourist from China but the patient was already discharged last January 31 yet./dbs