ANOTHER individual from Cebu City who arrived in Cagayan de Oro on May 19 has tested positive for the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
The new patient is a 25-year-old female, a resident of Barangay Lumbia, Cagayan de
Oro City.
She is the second person of the May 19 mercy trip who tested positive for the virus. The first is a 26-year-old male from Iligan City, who is also an architectural student.
The students were stranded in Cebu after their scheduled licensure board exam for architecture in March was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Both availed of the Balik Probinsya Program of the government and arrived in Mindanao on May 19, 2020.
Because of this, the Cebu City Government will conduct an investigation on how the students obtained health requirements, yet tested positive for Covid-19 when they reached their destination.
Cebu City Hall spokesperson Rey Gealon said they will investigate how the students were able to leave since they needed to secure health and exit clearances from the City Health Department before they could avail of the program.
“We will check where exactly in Cebu City they came from,” said Gealon.
Meanwhile, Northern Mindanao Medical Center medical officer Dr. Bernard Rocha said the female patient has non-productive cough, had diarrhea and is experiencing onset of shortness of breath. She is stable.
Cagayan de Oro City epidemiologist Dr. Joey Retuya said the source of infection might be in Cebu port where they stayed for at least four days after their scheduled May 16 trip did not push through.
"The source of infection is not from Cagayan de Oro, not from the boat," Retuya said. (JJL, SunStar Cagayan)