Cagayancillo saw a rapid rise in COVID-19 cases this week, all of which are local transmission cases.
The town with 6,285 residents as of the 2015 census is currently under lockdown to curb the spread of the disease.
As of Friday, 9 a.m., the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (PDRRMO) reported a total of 15 cases for the island town. PDRMMO head Jeremias Alili confirmed in a text message Friday that all the patients are cases of local transmission.
He also added that it is unknown whether all cases stemmed from the first “index case,” or the patient that first tested positive for the disease on the island.
“That I cannot confirm,” said Alili in a text message.
The town broke its COVID-free streak on November 25, when three patients, one public official, and two close contacts, tested positive for the disease. The public official was confirmed by local health officials to have violated quarantine protocols after arriving in the town from Puerto Princesa City.
On November 30, three more residents tested positive for the disease – a 77-year-old female, a 54-year-old female, and a 48-year-old male. On December 2, three more tested positive, adding nine more patients on the following day, December 3. Town officials have stopped providing patient details and have yet to confirm if all the patients were close contacts of one another.
