Tarlac, Pampanga, Mindoro Occidental on lockdown

Pampanga was placed on lockdown yesterday and Tarlac starting tomorrow as the provinces recorded their first coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases.

Tarlac Gov. Susan Yap said the first two COVID-19 patients in the province is a 75-year-old female from Paniqui and a 39-year-old male from Gerona.

In Pampanga, four people were infected with the flu virus, one of whom had died.

Mindoro Occidental Gov. Eduardo Gadiano placed the province on lockdown after its first COVID-19 patient, 83, died.

The patient, who arrived in the province prior to the implementation of an enhanced community quarantine in Luzon, died before test results came out, Gadiano said.

The first COVID-19 patient in Bataan recovered and was discharged from the St. Joseph Hospital and Medical Center on Wednesday.

The patient, who was confined on March 9, is a professor in Manila. His dormitory roommate is the second case in Bataan.

Meanwhile, Deputy Speaker Paolo Duterte apologized for the behavior of his son Omar, who reportedly did not line up and violated protocols in entering a supermarket in Davao City.

“It is with humility that I apologize for the behavior of Omar. His impertinence shall be dealt with accordingly,” Duterte said.

In Isabela, Gov. Rodolfo Albano III ordered the tracing of 25 students, who participated in an on-the-job training program with the first COVID-19 case in the province.

Ildefonso Costales of the Southern Isabela Medical Center in Santiago City said the students, mostly residents of southern Isabela, arrived from Manila in a shuttle bus on March 14.

Zamboanga City health officer Dulce Amor Miravite said the number of persons under investigation and monitoring in the city declined from 38 to 17 and 1,099 to 449, respectively, either after testing negative for the flu virus or completing their 14-day quarantine.