Leyte reports first coronavirus case, contact tracing intensifies

Leyte province reported its first confirmed coronavirus case on Friday, April 17.

The patient is a 58-year-old woman from Burauen town who had traveled to Guam in February and Manila on March 9 before returning to Leyte on March 13.

She experienced symptoms starting on March 23 and was admitted as a patient under investigation at the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center.

Health officials are intensifying contact tracing efforts to prevent local transmission, similar to what occurred in Samar where the region's second patient infected others.

The woman traveled back from Manila with 16 family members and friends in a private vehicle; so far, none of them have shown symptoms.