A government health worker in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental, who went to a cockfighting event in neighboring Calatrava town, has tested positive for coronavirus, Mayor Renato Gustilo confirmed tonight, January 22.
The government worker, known as Patient No. 515, is a 64-year-old male from Barangay Palampas.
Gustilo said they could not determine yet if the patient contracted the virus at the cockpit, but he was there the whole day of January 16. He returned to the city the following day, January 17.
They only learned that he was positive for the virus on Thursday, January 21, the mayor said, adding that the patient is now admitted to a hospital in the city after he displayed symptoms such as loss of smell and taste.
He said it has been a challenge communicating with the patient as he has a hard time breathing, but contact tracing is on.
Gustilo said the patient is from Cebu but had been working in the city for a long time. His family is also in Cebu, the mayor added.
The mayor called on his constituents who attended the cockfighting event at the Laguda Cockpit Center in Calatrava on January 16 and 17 to immediately report to the city’s quarantine facility.
Laguda Cockpit Center, in a Facebook post today, January 22, said that the patient had a normal body temperature when he entered the premises at that time, but has urged individuals who came in contact with the patient to submit for a swab test.
“Cockpit operations will continue with strict implementations of Inter-Agency Task Force protocols,” it added.*