BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN
A Badjao tribal leader engaged in selling jewelry in the cities of Cadiz and Bacolod tested positive for Covid-19, Sagay City Inter Agency Task Force chief, Ryan Bonghanoy, said yesterday.
The tribal leader and three members of his family, who are his direct contacts, are now in a quarantine facility, Bonghanoy said.
The result came out Wednesday when he and other Badjao families staying in Sagay City while waiting for their trip to return to their places of origin in Mindanao, were subjected to RT-PCR testing on Dec. 1.
Bonghanoy said initial investigations showed that the tribal leader may have been infected by the virus, either in Bacolod or Cadiz, where he sells jewelry.
The other Badjaos tested negative for the virus, he also said.
Meanwhile, the municipal government of Moises Padilla reported that an employee tested positive in a rapid anti-body testing conducted.
Municipal Health Officer Lyle Love Louise Ladera said the municipal employee also exhibited Covid-related symptoms. This prompted Mayor Ella Celestina Garcia Yulo to order the closure of the municipal hall for two days, to pave the way for disinfection, and to place under quarantine those in contact with the municipal employee, an advisory from the town said.*
