COVID-19 pandemic in Mimaropa
Confirmed cases in Mimaropa by province (as of July 4)[note 1]
  100–499 confirmed
  10–99 confirmed
  1–9 confirmed
DiseaseCOVID-19
Virus strainSARS-CoV-2
LocationMimaropa
First outbreakWuhan, Hubei, China
Index casePuerto Princesa
Arrival dateMarch 20, 2020
(3 years, 9 months, 1 week and 2 days)
Confirmed cases48,267
Active cases60
Recovered46,904
Deaths
1,303
Government website
mimaropa.doh.gov.ph

The COVID-19 pandemic in Mimaropa is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus reached Mimaropa on March 20, 2020, when the first case of the disease was confirmed in Puerto Princesa.

Timeline

The first COVID-19 case in Mimaropa was confirmed on March 20.[1] The case involved a 26-year-old male Australian tourist in Palawan who had already left the province at the time of confirmation. The tourist arrived in Manila on March 5 before taking a flight to Puerto Princesa. The man stayed for five days in a resort in San Vicente prior to seeking medical consultation after he exhibited symptoms. He was brought to the Palawan Provincial Hospital in Puerto Princesa for sample collection for testing on March 14. The tourist managed to secure clearance after two days to take a "mercy flight" to get out of the province to Clark after his fever subsided.[2]

Marinduque confirmed its first case on March 23, that of a case of resident of Torrijos who came to the province on March 14 from Metro Manila.[3]

The first case of Occidental Mindoro was confirmed on March 27 in the town of San Jose which involved an 84-year-old man who died at the San Jose District Hospital on March 22, on the same day the patient was admitted.[4] The first case in Oriental Mindoro on the other hand, that of a 1-year-old girl tested in Calapan, was also confirmed in the same day.[5]

Romblon's first case was that of a German national in San Jose, Romblon who had no recent travel history outside the country but has visited Metro Manila. The patient was confirmed to have tested positive for COVID-19 on March 28 and was admitted to a hospital in Aklan province in Western Visayas.[6]

In June 2020, cases were recorded in Palawan, outside the independent city of Puerto Princesa. Cases have been reported among previously stranded individuals who've since returned to their hometowns in Coron and Sofronio Española.[7][8]

Impact

The plebiscite to ratify legislation that proposes the partition of Palawan into three smaller provinces scheduled for May 2020 was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The province provincial legislature has called for a special session and is expected to pass a resolution allowing Governor Jose Alvarez to ask the COMELEC to postpone the plebiscite. Anti-partition advocacy group One Palawan has also called for the postponement of the plebiscite reasoning the ₱80 million ($1.6 million) budget allocated for the plebiscite could be used to fund the provincial government's efforts against COVID-19.[9]

Response

The whole of Mimaropa region was included under the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) imposed on Luzon. Quarantine measure in the region was downgraded to general community quarantine (GCQ) on May 1. However the town of San Jose, Occidental Mindoro remained under ECQ until at least May 15 even as the rest of the province downgraded to GCQ.[10]

Notes

  1. ↑ Breakdown of confirmed cases is according to the COVID-19 Case Tracker of the Department of Health.

References

  1. ↑ "The official statement from DOH-CHD Mimaropa regarding the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the region". Twitter. Department of Health – Mimaropa. Philippine Information Agency – Mimaropa. March 20, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  2. ↑ "Palawan records first coronavirus case". Rappler. March 21, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  3. ↑ Cinco, Maricar (March 23, 2020). "Torrijos town resident is Marinduque's first COVID-19 case". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  4. ↑ Virola, Madonna (March 27, 2020). "Deceased man is 1st COVID-19 case of Occidental Mindoro". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
  5. ↑ "Oriental Mindoro's first COVID-19 patient is a 1-year-old girl". CNN Philippines. March 27, 2020. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  6. ↑ Zabal, Boy Ryan (March 29, 2020). "Aklan provincial hospital unknowingly admits coronavirus patient from Romblon". Rappler. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  7. ↑ "2 returning to Palawan town infected with coronavirus". Philippine Daily Inquirer. June 19, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  8. ↑ "3 stranded returnees in Coron town test positive for COVID-19". Philippine Daily Inquirer. June 18, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  9. ↑ Magdayao, Aira Genesa (March 26, 2020). "Postponement of Palawan division plebiscite sought". Palawan News Online. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  10. ↑ Virola, Madonna (May 1, 2020). "San Jose, Occidental Mindoro under extended ECQ". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
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