‘With honors’: 15 families in Asturias to graduate from quarantine

CEBU CITY, Philippines — At least fifty persons coming from 15 families in Sitio Guinabasan South, Barangay Tubigagmanok in Asturias town will already “graduate” from their isolation on Wednesday, June 24, 2020, after 14 days of being under strict quarantine measures.

They had been isolated since June 9 after one of the residents in the area, who works as a rural health nurse in the neighboring Balamban town, tested positive for the coronavirus disease.

In a Facebook post, the Public Information Office (PIO) of Asturias announced that the 15 families are all healthy as they end their quarantine period.

“Kalooy sa Dios puros sila himsog sa panglawas ug wala gipamati nga simtomas sa ato gikahadlokan nga Covid gikan sa pag-start sa quarantine ug hangtod karon orasa nga gisuwat kini ang maong good news,” the PIO wrote.

(In God’s grace, all of them are physically healthy and have not manifested symptoms of the feared COVID-19 since they started their quarantine up to now while we write about this good news.)

“We would like to emphasize nga “GRADUATION WITH HONORS” ni kay ila gihimo ang sacrificio sa ilang kaugalingon aron luwas ang kahimtang sa tibuok lungsod if simbako naay cross-contamination sa virus diha sa ilang lawas,” it added.

(We would like to emphasize this is a “graduation with honors” because they made sacrifices to ensure the safety of the entire town had there been cross-contamination of the virus.)

Although all areas are deemed important, the Asturias PIO explained that the said community is a vital location since it is a strategic area where catches from the sea that are sold at the local public market and are transported through.

“Sa anticipation sa ato mga public officials, kung simbako [nag-outbreak] sa COVID virus ang Guinabasan, Tubigagmanok, maharos ang lungsod. Therefore, [aggressive] ang pag decider ni Barangay Tubigagmanok [kapitan] ug [konsehales] and sa ato Asturias RHU nga ipa- strict quarantine lockdown ang nahintungdan nga pamilya,” the PIO explained.

(Our public officials fear that if an outbreak would happen in Guinabasan, Tubigagmanok, this will affect the entire town. Therefore, it was an important decision on the part of the barangay officials and the Asturias RHU to place the affected families under lockdown.)

The PIO said that the four persons who had direct contact with the COVID-19 positive resident, who is now under isolation in Balamban town, all tested negative for the virus.

Meanwhile, the town also reported one recovery this Tuesday. The patient, a 23-year-old man from Barangay Bago, was also Asturias’ first COVID-19 case.

The PIO also reiterated that the now recovered patient did not have any exposure in their town since he had been staying in a quarter at Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) where he works as a food server since the start of the enhanced community quarantine. / dcb