The COVID-19 pandemic in the Bicol Region is part of the
worldwide pandemic of
coronavirus disease 2019
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
() caused by
severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The virus reached the
Bicol Region on March 27, 2020, when the first case of the disease was confirmed in
Albay.
Timeline
The
Department of Health (DOH) announced the first three cases in the Bicol Region on March 27. The cases were that of two male patients (50 and 53 years old) confined at the
Bicol Regional Training and Teaching Hospital in
Daraga,
Albay and a 48-year-old female from
Naga
Naga or NAGA may refer to:
Mythology
* Nāga, a serpentine deity or race in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain traditions
* Naga Kingdom, in the epic ''Mahabharata''
* Phaya Naga, mythical creatures believed to live in the Laotian stretch of the Mekong Riv ...
,
Camarines Sur.
From March 28 to April 1, the DOH reported four more cases, totaling seven cases.
Catanduanes recorded its first case on April 19, that 63-year-old woman from Virac. The patient who also had a travel history to Japan was admitted at the Eastern Bicol Medical Center from March 12 to 18. The woman arrived in the province on March 7 prior to the imposition of the
Luzon enhanced community quarantine
The enhanced community quarantine in Luzon was a series of stay-at-home orders and '' cordon sanitaire'' measures implemented by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) on the island of Luzon ...
.
The Luzon enhanced community quarantine was partially lifted, downgrading the whole Bicol Region to general community quarantine status starting May 1. However, enhanced community quarantine was reimposed on Albay province the following day.
The first recorded case of
Camarines Norte was announced on May 11. The case was that of a resident of
Labo who first experienced symptoms on April 27 and went to the Camarines Norte Provincial Hospital on May 4 for consultation. Three days later the first confirmed case in
Sorsogon was announced, that of a seafarer who arrived from
Florida in the United States.
Masbate recorded its first two cases on June 27, that of a man coming from Taguig in Metro Manila, and a 1-year old baby from Naga, Camarines Sur.
Statistics
Response
The Bicol Regional Diagnostic and Reference Laboratory (BRDRL) in Legazpi tests suspected COVID-19 cases in the region which had the capacity to conduct 40 to 60 test daily initially. On June 5, the facility was upgraded so it could conduct 500 tests daily.
Notes
References
{{Rodrigo Duterte
Bicol Region
History of the Bicol Region