COVID-19 pandemic in the Bicol Region
The COVID-19 pandemic in the Bicol Region is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The virus reached the Bicol Region on March 27, 2020, when the first case of the disease was confirmed in Albay. Timeline. The Department of Health (DOH) announced the first three cases in the Bicol Region on March 27. The cases were that of two male patients (50 and 53 years old) confined at the Bicol Regional Training Hospital in Daraga, Albay and a 48-year-old female from  Naga, Camarines Sur. From March 28 to April 1, the DOH reported four more cases, totaling seven cases. Catanduanes recorded its first case on April 19, that 63-year-old woman from Virac. The patient who also had a travel history to Japan was admitted at the Eastern Bicol Medical Center from March 12 to 18. The woman arrived in the province on March 7 prior to the imposition of the Luzon enhanced community quarantine. The Luzon enhanced community quarantine was partially lifted, downgrading the whole Bicol Region to general community quarantine status starting May 1. However, enhanced community quarantine  was reimposed on Albay province the following day. The first recorded case of Camarines Norte was announced on May 11. The case was that of a resident of Labo who first experienced symptoms on April 27 and went to the Camarines Norte Provincial Hospital on May 4 for consultation. Three days later the first confirmed case in Sorsogon was announced, that of a seafarer who arrived from Florida in the United States. Masbate recorded its first two cases on June 27, that of a man coming from Taguig in Metro Manila, and a 1-year old baby from Naga, Camarines  Sur. Response. The Bicol Regional Diagnostic and Reference Laboratory (BRDRL) in Legazpi tests suspected COVID-19 cases in the region which had the capacity to conduct 40 to 60 test daily initially. On June 5, the facility was upgraded so it could conduct 500 tests daily.