ILOILO CITY – The monastery of the Carmelite Order in this city is under lockdown after 24 nuns and nine staff have been infected by COVID-19.
Data from the City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (CESU) of the Iloilo City Health Office (ICHO) said that the 33 cases at the Carmelite monastery in La Paz district are among the 102 new COVID-19 cases recorded Saturday, July 24.
CESU-ICHO data said majority of the Carmelite nuns infected with COVID-19 are elderly.
Two of the 24 nuns are in their 90s while 11 nuns are in their 80s. Another four nuns are in their 70s.
The youngest nun infected with COVID-19 at the monastery is in her late 20s.
It is unclear where and how the Carmelite nuns and the monastery staff were infected with COVID-19.
Iloilo City has been under Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) since July 16. The ECQ is scheduled to end on July 31 and aims to curb the number of new COVID-19 cases.
As of July 24, the Department of Health (DOH) Western Visayas (Region 6) recorded more than 1,500 active COVID-19 cases in Iloilo City.