BY CARLA P. GOMEZ
A Negros Occidental board member from the north and five members of the Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office in Bago City have tested positive for COVID-19.
Board Member Samson Mirhan tested positive for the virus, Cadiz Mayor Salvador Escalante confirmed yesterday.
Mirhan could not be reached for comment, as of press time.
Meanwhile, Mayor Nicholas Yulo said five members of the Bago DRRMO who were swabbed along with other frontliners during the Timeout Weekend in his city tested positive.
Dr. Merijene Ortizo, Bago DRRMO head, said the frontliners who tested positive were three nurses who serve as emergency medical providers, a bus helper who helps in the transport of Locally Stranded Individuals and Returning Overseas Workers, and a utility man tasked with COVID-19 decontamination work.
Ortizo said 51 of the 61 DRRMO personnel of the city were close contacts of the five. Although the 51 tested negative during the mass testing, they have been quarantined until second tests can be conducted.
She said only she and four other members of the DRRMO did not have any contact with those who tested positive.
Yulo said four Bago medical technicians tasked with collecting swab specimens for COVID-19 tests also tested positive for COVID-19 earlier.
The five other medical technicians of the city also tasked with swabbing are their close contacts so they also have been quarantined, he added.
The Bago City Incident Management Team has taken over the work of the quarantined DRRMO personnel, Yulo said.
111 FROM BACOLOD
Meanwhile, of the 143 from the Timeout Weekend who tested positive for COVID-19 at the Teresita L. Jalandoni Provincial Hospital laboratory in Silay City yesterday, 111 more were from Bacolod City, Negros Occidental Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said.
He said a consolidated report on the Timeout Weekend test results will be released later.
The Department of Health 6 reported yesterday that Bacolod City has 59 new COVID cases and Negros Occidental has 28.
This brings to 1,403 the total COVID-19 positive cases in Bacolod City and 1,261 in Negros Occidental.*
