DOH confirms COVID-19 local transmission in Tacloban, La Paz, Hilongos

The Department of Health (DOH-8) confirmed local transmission of COVID-19 in Tacloban City, La Paz, and Hilongos in Leyte.

This confirmation followed a surge of 68 new cases on Saturday, June 13, with the regional total reaching 200.

The DOH attributed the surge to locally stranded individuals (LSIs) and cases with no recent travel history or known exposure.

In La Paz town, five local health workers and an ambulance driver tested positive after close contact with an OFW who returned on May 28.

The caretaker of the pension house where the OFW stayed also acquired the virus.

As of Sunday, La Paz had 12 cases, including two LSIs and a health worker assigned in La Paz.

Two patients from La Paz and Hilongos towns, admitted for Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI), also contracted the virus.

The DOH is intensifying contact tracing, mandating admission of arrivals to community isolation units, improving hospital preparedness, and enhancing SARI surveillance to manage the localized transmission.