SULTAN KUDARAT – Two returning Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and a locally stranded individual (LSI) with a recent trip from Manila were confirmed positive for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Tacurong City, Sultan Kudarat, two months after having no recorded confirmed cases in the city.
On Friday, the Department of Health (DOH)-Soccsksargen reported four new positives in the region, three of which are from the province of Sultan Kudarat and one from the province of South Cotabato.
The agency bared that of the new cases are female with age ranging from 37 to 44.
The local government of Tacurong said that of the city’s three positives, one is a 43-year-old female LSI who arrived in the province last June 18. She was tagged by the (DOH)-Soccsksargen as the 53rd case in Region XII;
Two other patients, meanwhile, identified as the 54th and 55th cases in the region, are returning OFWs, with ages 37 and 38, respectively. They arrived in the province last June 15.
The city now has a total of four confirmed positives as of June 26, two months after the (DOH)-Soccsksargen has reported last April 6 PH3269 as the first COVID-19 case in Tacurong City, the second in the province, and ninth case in entire the region, whose recovery was announced on April 24.
Marlow Anthony Buenacosa, City Epidemiology Surveillance Unit (CESU) head, said that all of the three patients are in a stable condition and was placed under isolation since their arrival, noting that necessary health protocols “were strictly observed” in handling the patients.
The local government has urged the public to follow the existing health measures provided under the Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) guidelines.
Meanwhile, Tacurong City Mayor Angelo Montilla reminded the public not to be complacent and should be compliant with the existing protocols.
“[P]adayon gid ako nga nagaapila sang inyo kooperasyon sa mga patakaran nga ginapatuman sang aton gobyerno (I continue to appeal for your cooperation on the guidelines being implemented by our government),” Mayor Montilla said.
Currently, the province of Sultan Kudarat has a total of nine confirmed COVID-19 cases, with two recoveries, and one recorded death.
On the other hand, the (DOH)-Soccsksargen also recorded the fourth positive in the province of Sarangani, a 44-year-old female who arrived in the province on June 15. The agency tagged her as the 56th case in the region.
The provincial government of Sarangani bared that the patient is a resident from the municipality of Maitum.
Maitum Rural Health Unit (RHU) officer Dr. Junie Basmillo in her Facebook post on Friday evening detailed that the patient is an LSI “from Tondo,Manila”.
“Contact tracing is ongoing and everybody is advised to take precautionary measures,” Dr. Basmillo said.
The patient is the second recorded positive case of the municipality.
With the four additional cases, the region has a total of 56 confirmed individuals infected by COVID-19, 32 recoveries, and one fatality as of June 26.
