The Department of Health (DOH) office in Eastern Visayas revealed that at least two of more than 100 persons who returned to Leyte courtesy of the government’s Balik Probinsiya program, tested positive for SARS Cov2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
The infected persons were a 26-year-old man from the town of Tanauan and a 28-year-old man from Baybay City
Dr. Minerva Molon, DOH regional director, said she could not recommend the suspension of Balik Probinsiya, despite its risks, because it was a national government program.
What they can do is to monitor if there were any lapses in the program’s implementation and address these to ensure that those returning to provinces were not coronavirus carriers.
“We have to consider the readiness of the community,” said Molon.
According to Molon, there are at least 4,000 individuals set to return to Leyte under the Balik Probinsya program.
Last May 22, over 100 workers in Metro Manila returned to Leyte which was among the provinces to first implement the Balik Probinsya program of the national government.
As of May 28, Eastern Visayas has at least 31 cases of COVID-19.Read more:
