Drinking sprees spread Covid-19

CALAPAN CITY, Oriental Mindoro: In at least two instances, nine individuals were infected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) after having a drinking binge with friends, the City Health and Sanitation Department (CHSD) here said.

In a public address on Wednesday aired on his official social media page, Mayor Arnan Panaligan said nine of the new cases of Covid-19 in the city were traced to the drinking sessions either attended or spearheaded by a positive person.

One incident involved a provincial health worker, who invited friends to a drinking spree.

A call center agent joined them, and after two days, the agent tested positive.

The agent transmitted the virus to four of his family members, Panaligan said in his address.

Another incident involved a positive patient, who invited five of his friends to his house for a birthday celebration.

Panaligan said the cases were monitored after the contracttracing conducted by the CHSD.

The mayor added that of the 463 confirmed cases in the city, 75 percent or 347 are males, a number that he attributed to “more males going out of their homes to work or have drinking sessions with their friends.”

“We now have 49 active cases, and compared to other places, this is still [fewer] and manageable. Our recovery rate is at 89 percent with deaths at one percent. We are asking everybody to strictly observe the prescribed health protocols and avoid huge gatherings [such as] drinking and videoke sessions,” Panaligan said in his public address.

The mayor called on barangay (village) officials to closely monitor videoke bar owners and tell the latter not to rent out their videoke machines in the evening and when there are online classes of students in the neighborhood.