DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 23 April) – A 10-year old girl from Butuan City with no signs and symptoms and no travel history but “in close contact” with a person who attended the six-cock derby in the New Davao Matina Gallera last month, has tested positive for COVID-19.
The Department of Health’s Center for Health Development in Caraga region posted a press release at around 11 p.m. Wednesday that they received at 6:30 p.m. the results of the girl’s RT-PCR confirmatory results from the Research Institute for Ttropical Medicine (RITM).
SIx-cock derby announcement on tarpaulin outside the New Davao Matina Gallera says prize pot is 26 million pesos, 17 million for the champion. MindaaNews photo by GREGORIO BUENO
The girl is the third confirmed COVID-19 case in Caraga region. She is also the 23rd case outside Davao City and the 44th in Mindanao whose infection is traced to the Davao derby.
At least 43 COVID-19 cases in Mindanao traced to Davao’s six-cock derby
“This is our call to the public even from the beginning. Stay at home and report to the right authorities if you manifest COVID-19 symptoms, if you have been in close contact to a confirmed case or if you have travelled to an area with local transmission,” DOH-Caraga Director Jose Llacuna, Jr. said.
Oropharyngeal swabs were taken from six persons, including the 10-year old girl, the third batch of those who tested positive in the Rapid Antibody Tests conducted by the local government of Butuan City. These were subjected to RT-PCR test. The five others tested negative.
The fourth batch of samples was already sent, yesterday, April 21, 2020 to the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC), the sub-national laboratory for Mindanao.
All three cases in the Caraga region are from Butuan City – the first with a history of travel from Manila while the two others were infected by someone who went to the Davao derby – the 10-year old girl and a 65-year old male who also had no history of travel but whose son went to the Davao derby.
It is not clear if the 10-year old was infected by the same person who infected the 65-year old. Or by another person who went to the Davao derby. (Carolyn O. Arguillas / MindaNews)
