BY SHIRLEY PIZARRO
BALANGA, BATAAN — At least 41 people have tested positive for COVID-19 after attending a religious gathering in a hotel in this town last July 19.
The figure was culled from continuous contact-tracing conducted by city and health officials in the province since the discovery of the first patient last July 28.
The latest COVID-19 positive count from the outbreak released on Friday revealed nine more patients, including children ages 3-9 from Abucay town. This is on top of the 32 others who were confirmed positive for coronavirus last July 29 and 30. The number is still expected to rise, according to authorities.
This latest setback in the province’s fight against COVID-19 brought the total confirmed cases in Bataan to 390, 242 of which have recovered while 11 cases resulted in death.
According to sources, the spiritual gathering was led by a pastor who came all the way from Metro Manila.
An investigation also showed that the gathering failed to observe strict social distancing, catered to more than the prescribed 50% capacity of the venue and allowed minors and senior citizens to join.
Some of the confirmed COVID-19 patients are now being treated in the COVID-19 facility in Mariveles while those who have not been showing symptoms are quarantined in their own homes.
The Bunker, where government offices are located, was shut down for two days for a thorough disinfection procedure. One of its employees tested positive after attending the same spiritual gathering.
As a result, Gov. Albert Garcia ordered the immediate implementation of a more stringent border control.
He said that the outbreak being experienced in Bataan now has emanated from the influx of people, either Returning Overseas Filipinos (ROF), Locally Stranded Individuals (LSI) and even Authorized Persons Outside of Residence (APOR).
“We need to control this outbreak fast, otherwise, our health system will be inundated with COVID cases. We don’t want that to happen.” (Shirley Matias Pizarro)
