CASES of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) continued to increase in Eastern Visayas with 88 new cases recorded on Thursday, October 15, bringing the total case count in the region to 5,644.
The 88 additional cases were recorded out of 1,004 laboratory samples tested at the Eastern Visayas Regional Covid-19 Testing Center and the Divine Word Hospital Virology Laboratory in Tacloban City.
The new cases are in Tacloban (14), Alang-alang (11), Hindang (4), Isabel (1), Inopacan (1), Jaro (1), Mahaplag (1), Matag-ob (2), Matalom (1), Palo (1), Pastrana (1), Palompon (1), Sta. Fe (2), Calbiga (1), Calbayog City (3), Catbalogan City (13), Paranas (2), Lawaan (1), Catarman (2), Laoang (1), Palapag (1), San Jose (1), Maasin City (10) and Macrohon (12).
Meanwhile, five barangays in Maasin City have remained under varying containment zones after several clustering of Covid-19 cases have been identified by the city's Internal Inter-Agency Task Force.
In his executive order number 53, Maasin City Mayor Nacional Mercado identified the five barangays as Combado, Tunga-Tunga, Tagnipa, Mantahan and Asuncion.
Mercado also ordered the deployment of additional police personnel "to ensure the strict implementation of quarantine protocols in the affected barangays."
"The Local Government of Maasin would like to remind everyone to always remain vigilant and strictly follow the established Covid-19 infection-prevention and control measures. We will surely exhaust all our efforts and take all the possible measures for the safety and security of all Maasinhons. With our continuous commitment, we can get through this together," Mercado said in a statement.
"We are at an important phase in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. We stand behind all our healthcare workers and other frontliners for relentlessly working under these precarious circumstances just to make the ends meet," added Mercado.
Maasin already logged 79 active cases of Covid-19.
As of 7 p.m. Thursday, October 16, Eastern Visayas recorded 4,809 (85.21 percent) total recoveries and 54 (0.96 percent) deaths, bringing the total active cases to 781 (13.84 percent). (SunStar Philippines)