By Marie Tonette Marticio
TACLOBAN CITY - A returning overseas Filipino worker (OFW) from Hilongos, Leyte was among the five new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients recorded in Eastern Visayas, bringing the total number of cases in the region to 36.
Patient EV 36 was a 31-year old OFW who worked on a cruise ship. He arrived via plane at Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport here last Monday, May 25. The Department of Health in Region 8 (DOH-8) said he was asymptomatic and has been isolated in their local isolation facility.
DOH-8 added the surveillance team has already coordinated with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) to identify those who had close contact with the patient.
"The risk of COVID-19 transmission in the region is there. We cannot let this virus beat us by giving up on our established protocols... The OFW has been in isolation since his arrival. The possibility of local transmission is very nil, as long as all concerned stakeholders will work together as a team," DOH-8 reported.