THE first coronavirus disease 2019 infection in San Luis town was recorded 70 days after the enhanced community quarantine was implemented in Luzon island.
The patient, which is also 100th case in Pampanga, is a doctor currently residing in Bataan province, the Provincial Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (PESU) reported.
Although staying in Bataan, PESU said the patient was tagged in this town as it is listed as his permanent address.
Mayor Jayson Sagum, meanwhile, clarified that the patient never went home in this town during the course of his infection.
He disclosed that the patient first went on duty as physician on April 20 in the hospital which, he said, was the epicenter of Covid-19 cases in his area.
Sagum furthered that on April 25, the frontliner doctor logged out from the hospital after a five-day straight duty, but was subjected to swab testing and home self-quarantine for 14 days as part of the protocol.
The results showing positive for Covid-19 came back on May 18, a few days after the doctor returned to attend to his patients, he disclosed.
Upon learning his condition, the mayor said the patient was immediately confined and isolated, and was tested for two consecutive days.
“Result of two swab tests came out negative so our kabalen is now considered a recovered patient,” he said.
No Covid-19 in San Luis
Sagum, meanwhile, clarified that the dreaded virus never came to their community, and that the municipality can technically still be considered as Covid-19 free.
“The patient was infected in another province, he was swabbed, quarantined and was able to recover while in another province so we technically did not have a Covid-19 patient here,” he stressed.
Despite this, San Luis is now out on the list of municipalities in Pampanga with zero confirmed cases of Covid-19, leaving only Arayat, Minalin and Masantol towns.