Hostage-taking: 86 people to be tested for COVID-19

MANILA, Philippines — At least 86 people need to get tested for COVID-19 for being part of a hostage-taking incident that turned into a superspreader event along C-3 Road in Caloocan last Friday.

Those who will be subjected to contact-tracing are the 12-year-old hostage victim and 10 members of his family, 26 police officers who responded to the incident, as well as 13 spectators from Caloocan and 35 from Navotas.

The contact-tracing was easier done in Caloocan, but it will be more difficult to track down the Navotas residents, Caloocan city administrator Oliver Hernandez told The STAR yesterday.

“Antigen testing is being made available for free for all of them,” Hernandez said.

The place in Barangay 14, Caloocan where the hostage-taking occurred is near the city’s border with Navotas.

The hostage taker, Anthony Soriano, will also undergo testing for COVID-19.

Meanwhile, the San Lazaro Hospital (SLH) in Manila is close to reaching its full capacity for COVID-19 patients.

SLH spokesman Dr. Ferdinand de Guzman said two suspected COVID-19 patients were declared dead on arrival at the hospital on Tuesday.

One of the fatalities was only 10 years old with COVID symptoms, De Guzman said.

He said 143 of the hospital’s 164 COVID-19 beds were occupied.