The mayor of New Lucena, Iloilo confirmed on Wednesday, April 7, that she is positive for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

“I am positive as per result of the RT-PCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) test,” Mayor Liecel M. Seville said in a phone interview with the media.

She and her husband went to a hospital in Iloilo City on Saturday, April 3, but they were required to have an RT-PCR test before their admission.

Her husband was swabbed and was found positive. The mayor was swabbed the morning of April 4 and the positive result was released in the evening.

The mayor, who has a cough, and her husband, who has a fever, are now admitted to a hospital.

Meanwhile, Seville said they have yet to determine how they got the virus.

Before they went to the hospital on Saturday her husband already has a fever on March 31, she said.

She added that tracing and swabbing of their close contacts are ongoing.

As of Wednesday, 27 contacts have been traced, she said.

Based on the report of the Iloilo Provincial Health Office (IPHO), New Lucena has seven active cases out of its 66 total cumulative cases. It already has 59 recoveries.

Of the seven active cases, two are admitted and the rest are on home quarantine.PNA