9 close contacts of lone COVID fatality infected
NINE persons who are close contacts of a COVID-19 patient from Balungao town who recently died tested positive for the virus.
The town’s Municipal Inter-Agency Task Force announced the results last Wednesday evening, October 7, that the nine were out of 40 persons separately tested on Oct. 3 and Oct. 5 through the Ilocos Training Regional Medical Center and the Provincial Health Office’s expanded COVID-19 testing.
On Oct. 3, there were 15 persons considered as high-risk close contacts of the deceased COVID-19 patient who underwent reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test but only one tested positive of the virus. The patient was asymptomatic.
On Oct. 5, another batch of 25 persons who were also considered high-risk close contacts of the dead patient were also swab tested and eight tested positive. All patients were also asymptomatic.
The Municipal Health Office said from the time of known exposure to the COVID-19 patient, all the traced close contacts were in strict home isolation and will continue their quarantine at the Emergency Isolation Facility.
The municipal hall, the MHO, birthing facility and other government facilities were closed for three days for decontamination and to give way to a more expansive contact tracing.
While the statement did not identify the deceased COVID-19 patient, Gov. Amado Espino III had earlier issued a statement on Oct. 3 about the demise of Board Member Jose Peralta Jr. due to COVID-19, provincial federation president of the Liga ng mga Barangay, was a three-term mayor of Balungao.
Peralta is the lone fatality of COVID-19. (PhilStar Wire Service/ECV)
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