Two fishermen were found positive for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Negros Oriental.

In a media briefing Sunday, Assistant Provincial Health Officer Dr. Liland Estacion said one of the two active cases is from Ayungon, Negros Oriental while the other patient is a resident of Samboan, Cebu.

Estacion said both patients are asymptomatic and are now confined in the COVID Ward of the Negros Oriental Provincial Hospital.

Estacion added the two are among the 150 fishermen from Palawan who arrived in Negros Oriental two weeks ago.

Their swab samples were taken May 21 and were sent to a laboratory in Cebu for examination.

This brings the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Negros Oriental to 6.

For more than a month, the province did not have any active case of the deadly disease until the results of the recent swab tests came out revealing 2 new cases.

According to Estacion, the two fishermen had contact with a COVID-19 patient while they were on the ship. This is also whey they were immediately tested upon getting off the ship.

As of Sunday, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country has reached 18,086.

Of this number, 3,909 have recovered while 957 have died.