Another Mayon evacuee gets COVID-19

The Department of Health (DOH) confirmed that another evacuee from the Mayon Volcano's unrest tested positive for COVID-19. 

According to GMA Regional TV Balitang Bicolandia’s Jessica Calinog's report on GTV’s “Balitanghali” on Thursday, the DOH confirmed the infection after authorities conducted contact tracing and swabbing in Gabawan, Daraga, Albay on Wednesday.

The DOH Bicol Center for Health Development said the patient is one of the thirty close contacts of the first evacuee who tested positive for COVID-19.

The individual is now staying at the municipality command center, while the twenty-nine others have tested negative for the virus and have been returned to the evacuation center.

However, they are encouraged to stay in one room to avoid exposure to other evacuees. The health department and the local government unit of Bicol also urged evacuees to observe public health standards, such as wearing face masks for their own protection.

Meanwhile, the health education campaign is ongoing in every evacuation camp in the area to avoid the further spread of COVID-19 and other diseases.

The DOH also said that administration of COVID-19 vaccines is currently underway at evacuation centers using Sinovac jabs.

Mayon update

According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), Mayon Volcano remained restive over the past 24 hours, producing 299 rockfalls and eight dome-collapse pyroclastic density current (PDC) events amid "very slow" lava effusion.

“Alert Level 3 is maintained over Mayon Volcano, which means that it is currently in a relatively high level of unrest as magma is at the crater and hazardous eruption within weeks or even days is possible,” PHIVOLCS said in its 8 a.m. bulletin on Thursday.

There was zero volcanic earthquake recorded during the same period, but the latest number of PDC events was higher compared to the seven PDC events reported on Wednesday.

Alert Level 3 in Mayon Volcano was raised on June 8 after three PDC events on the Bonga (southeast) and Basud (east) Gullies of Mayon Volcano.

NDRRMC Report

A total of 38,989 people or 10,112 families in 26 barangays in Bicol were affected by the activity of Mayon Volcano, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported on Thursday.

A state of calamity was declared in 18 cities and municipalities due to the threat of Mayon.

Assistance worth P77,462,360 has been provided to the victims, according to the NDRRMC. —Sherylin Untalan/ VAL, GMA Integrated News