COTABATO CITY – Forty individuals from Kidapawan City who went to the Matina Gallera cockfight derby in Davao City last month March have been accounted for and undergone COVID-19 quarantine, officials announced.
The derby held on March 7, 10, 12 and 14 has been tagged as the epicenter of COVID-19 in Mindanao as 18 across the south (11 in Davao region) of some 400 of cockfighting aficionados in attendance had died, recent published reports said.
Fifty-one Kidapaweños attended the derby and 40 of them have been identified by the city health office after massive contact-tracing, according to a report from lawyer Paolo Evangelista, city legal officer and spokesperson.
Authorities have been tracking down the remaining 11 Kidapaweños still at large because at least two of those accounted tested positive for COVID-19, it was learned.
All the 40 accounted Kidapawan residents were considered persons under investigation (PUI), 16 were on home quarantine, six in isolation facility and 18 have completed the 14-day quarantine period, Evangelista’s report said.
Kidapawan City remained on enhanced community quarantine with strict measures in place, including “automatic” 14-day quarantine for anyone coming to the city from Davao del Sur and Davao City, two of the areas in Mindanao with reported high cases of COVID-19 positive. (Ali Macabalang)