Cebu logs 36 new COVID cases, 1 ‘official’ death — DOH

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Department of Health in Central Visayas has reported 36 new cases of the coronavirus infection with one new death in Cebu this Wednesday, April 29, 2020.

The DOH-7 said the mortality is a 44-year-old man from Cebu province but did not indicate the specific town where the patient came from.

The patient had preexisting medical conditions aside from COVID-19, the health department said.

In the DOH-7’s official bulletin for COVID-19 today, Regional Director Jaime Bernadas also clarified that one of the 37 positive COVID-19 results that were earlier mentioned by Governor Gwendolyn Garcia was from a repeat test and not a new reported case.

Read: Gwen: COVID-19 breaches CPDRC

The new cases include 9 from Cebu City, bringing the total number of cases to 555; 2 from Lapu-Lapu City, bringing its total to 34; 5 from Mandaue City, making its overall count climb to 17; 18 from the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) in Barangay Kalunasan; and two from Cebu province.

Garcia earlier announced that the two new cases from the province are a 58-year-old man from Barangay Lanao, Daanbanatayan, and a 31-year-old woman from Barangay Lower Pakigne, Minglanilla town.

Daanbantayan Mayor Sun Shimura, in a Facebook post on Wednesday evening, said the patient has died last Sunday, April 26, and was cremated on Monday.

Shimura said the patient was also suffering from kidney disease and had been frequenting the hospital.

“Ako na gi isolate ang tibook pamilya [and] ambulance drivers nga naka drive.

I would like to request/ advise sa mga families and friends sa atong drivers nga naka drive, please isolate yourselves from other people. Palayo sa mo ug ayaw sa [og lakaw-lakaw]. Please,” the mayor said.

Meanwhile, the Municipality of Minglanilla has confirmed that the reported case of COVID-19 is their resident who is a frontline health worker in Cebu City.

In an update on the town’s official page, Minglanilla LGU said the infected health worker has already undergone self-isolation prior to the release of her test results.

Minglanilla Mayor Elanito Peña is also set to issue an executive order for the lockdown of the community where the patient and her family reside.

In total, the number of COVID-19 cases in the region is now at 636, of which 631 are from Cebu province and its independent cities. /rcg