Breaking News Update: DOH-7 clarifies only 2 COVID-19 cases in Cebu City, the third one a repeat test
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Only two new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases were recorded in Cebu City for Black Saturday, April 11, 2020, not three as earlier reported.
The Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH – 7) announced that a total of 138 samples were tested for Saturday, and three from Cebu City tested positive of the virus.
DOH – 7 clarified that of those which tested positive – only two are new specimens while the third is from a patient who was previously confirmed to have been infected with the disease.
“Three specimens tested positive while one is a repeat test of a previously confirmed case,” the agency stated in their latest COVID-19 bulletin.
Data from DOH – 7 show the additional COVID-19 patients in Cebu City are a 59 years old male and a 38 years old female.
“The two (2) additional cases of confirmed COVID-19 are residents of Cebu City and were contacts of a confirmed case,” it added.
They also recorded two more patients from Cebu City who are classified as laboratory negative after repeat tests conducted upon them show they are now cleared of COVID-19.
This means the total number of confirmed cases for Central Visayas is now at 38, with 25 of them from Cebu City.
The recent development also means that the number of patients, who are now considered as laboratory negative, has risen to 21 from 19.
Dr. Jaime Bernadas, director of DOH – 7, said the two new cases in Cebu City would illustrate how the virus could be transmitted, and why containment measures such as social distancing and home quarantine were necessary.
“The need to stay home and avoid or limit contact with sick members of the family or community can keep the transmission low,” Bernadas said.
Repeat Tests
Repeat tests are conducted on patients confirmed to have COVID-19 to monitor if their health systems have already been cleared of the infection.
Citing reports from DOH – 7, Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia announced earlier on Saturday that there were three samples in Cebu City who tested positive of the virus.
She said that based on the data from health authorities, a total of 110 samples from Cebu were tested on Saturday.
Garcia said 107 tested negative while three were positive of the COVID-19. She said that the cases came from Barangay Luz, Cebu City.
However, this was clarified by the DOH-7, that there were actually only two COVID-19 cases because the third one was a repeat test of a patient confirmed positive of the COVID-19 virus.
Note: This breaking story has been updated with the clarification of DOH-7 of the number of positive cases of COVID-19 in Cebu City.
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