CEBU CITY, Philippines — There are now zero active cases of the new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Madridejos town, a week after the town was under wide scrutiny due to crowd gathering.
Mayor Salvador Dela Fuente, in a phone interview with reporters on Friday, December 4, confirmed that their lone COVID-19 patient recently recovered.
“We have zero active COVID-19 cases presently. And we’re very grateful for this development,” said Dela Fuente in Cebuano.
Active cases refer to patients still infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
Last November 27, the Madridejos stop of the Suroy-Suroy Sugbo in Bantayan Island was met with criticism when photos and videos of a big crowd gathering in Kota Park, where the event was held, circulated on social media.
This prompted the local government unit (LGU) of Madridejos to urge all those who attended the event in Kota Park to report to health authorities if they start showing symptoms of the infection.
But as of December 4, Dela Fuente said they have not recorded or monitored any suspected COVID-19 patients.
“I have personally checked… but none showed symptoms of the infection,” added Dela Fuente.
The mayor said their locality documented a total of 104 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with three fatalities.
Despite this development, Dela Fuente, urged their constituents to continually follow health protocols such as wearing face masks, frequent handwashing, and physical distancing.
The Suroy-Suroy Sugbo in Bantayan Island was attended by Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, Presidential Assistant to the Visayas Michael Lloyd Dino, the three mayors of the towns comprising Bantayan Island, and Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque.
Roque, in particular, received backlash from netizens for addressing the crowd.
But in a series of follow-up statements, the Malacañang official said the incident was “a lesson learned” for his part.
Madridejos is a fourth-class municipality located on Bantayan Island. The other towns found there are Bantayan and Santa Fe.
The provincial government together with the Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) organized a three-day Suroy-Suroy in Bantayan Island in line with the opening of the Bantayan Island Airport. /rcg