Talisay City now has 18 COVID cases

Medical personnel conduct Swab testing of the close contacts of  COVID-19 patient No. 2 of Talisay City. | Photo courtesy: Samsam Gullas

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Talisay City now has 18 new Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases after another case was recorded in Sitio Ilang-ilang, Barangay Isidro.

Mayor Gerald Anthony “Samsam” Gullas said in his Facebook page that the patient had tuberculosis.

He was brought to the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) on May 19, 2020 where he was swabbed as per protocol.

The patient is currently admitted at VSMMC where he is also being isolated.

The patient’s close family members as well as close neighbors are now being quarantined and will be sent to a quarantine facility.

Read more: Gullas orders probe on deaths of six Talisay City COVID patients

“We will isolate close contacts and swab them ASAP (as soon as possible),” said the mayor.

The patient is now the 18th case of the coronavirus in the city, which has also six deaths due to the virus.

Read more: Pregnant women nearing due date is Talisay City’s 17th COVID patient

Meanwhile, Gullas also announced that 11 out of 16 swab sample results from the contact tracing of Talisay City’s Patient Number 4 (PT4) all returned negative.

The mayor said only 11 out of the 16 samples sent have been returned, and the city was awaiting for the remaining five results in order to know if the sitio could already be released from the lockdown.

“I’m really hoping that all of our contact tracing will come out negative. I hope and pray for that everyday. Kay pasabot wala makatakod sa communidad (because this means that no one was infected in the community). Hopefully, padayon ang inun ani na balita  this coming days,” said the mayor.

(I’m really hoping that all of our contact tracing will come out negative. I hope and pray for that everyday. This means there is no community transmission. Hopefully, these kinds of good news will continue in the next days.)/dbs