Basilan province confirms first COVID-19 case

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 27) — Basilan province has recorded its first COVID-19 case, four months after the first coronavirus infection was reported in the country.

Governor Jim Hataman Salliman confirmed the news on Wednesday in a radio interview he shared on his Facebook page.

The patient was a 47-year-old resident of Tipo Tipo town and who is receiving dialysis.

Salliman said the patient first tested positive via a rapid test before receiving another positive result following a confirmatory polymerase-chain reaction test.

He has since been moved to the Zamboanga City General Hospital, said Salliman.

The governor also said that contact-tracing and disinfection have been started. The patient's wife tested negative for COVID-19, he added.

There are now 17 provinces left in the country that are free of COVID-19. The country recorded its first case on January 30.