By RUFFIE CRUZ |

Zambales Provincial Health Officer Noel C. Bueno said that there is yet no full local transmission of the new coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in the province despite the findings that the first Covid-19 fatality in the province did not have any travel history or exposure.

Dr. Bueno told Headline Zambales on Sunday, March 29, that there must be at least two positive cases with no recent travel history to infected areas or exposure to any infected person to merit a declaration of full local transmission.

The first positive Covid-19 case in the province recently traveled in Manila while the second arrived from the United States before showing symptoms.

“Unlike the other two, (the third case) neither traveled to any infected place nor contacted a suspected carrier,” Bueno said in a text message.

“Therefore, it is just some sort of local transmission,” he added.

The doctor reiterated that there must be at least a second similar case to declare a new emergency. In the meantime, he urged the public to remain vigilant.

According to medical literature, transmission occurs in four stages: stage one involves getting imported cases, stage 2 is local transmission, stage three is community transmission, and stage 4 is when it turns into an epidemic.

Meanwhile, the Castillejos Municipal Task Force (CMTF) said that the remains of the third confirmed case was cremated on Saturday, March 28.

Contact-tracing and disinfection of the casualty’s neighborhood is now going on, it added.

Town mayor Eleanor Domiguez, who is also CMTF head, said on “One Castillejos” facebook page that prior to his hospitalization, the victim had asked three neighbors to clean his backyard on March 10 and went to the public market on March 14.

He began experiencing symptoms from March 16 to March 18, sought medical care on March 19, and got admitted at the ACE Medical Center (Baypointe Hospital) in the Subic Bay Freeport the following day.

Health workers reportedly conducted swab test on the patient last March 21, but he died on March 27, while waiting for test results.

Dominguez also said that she had asked permission from the family of the victim to release these information so that the public may be aware of the circumstances surrounding the death of their kin.

CMTF asked the public to stay home because a local transmission meant anyone in the community could already be infected. This was confirmed by Bueno to some extent.

The PHO is the only government agency in Zambales with the authority to confirm any Covid-19 case. Its report is disseminated to local government units, as well as to members of the press.

TOP PHOTO: Security officers undertake temperature scanning at a gate in the Subic Bay Freeport to flush out possible Covid-19 infections (Photo by Jun Dumaguing)