ILOILO City – Four persons under investigation (PUI) for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) died without knowing if they had the virus.
Confined in various hospitals in Western Visayas, the four expired while waiting for the results of their specimen’s analysis at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in Metro Manila.
The mortalities were from Iloilo City, Bacolod City, San Carlos City in Negros Occidental, and Roxas City in Capiz, according to Dr. Jane Juanico, Department of Health (DOH) Region 6 focal person on COVID-19.
The mortality in Iloilo City was a 72-year-old male who was coughing and had fever.
The Bacolod City PUI was a 60-year-old male who coughed and had fever, and suffered from stage 4 colon cancer. He had no history of travelling to areas with COVID-19 cases.
In San Carlos City, the mortality was a 78-year-old female with exposure to a family member from Manila. She coughed and exhibited symptoms of flu.
In Roxas City, the mortality was a 30-year-old male who came home from Manila. He was coughing and had difficulty breathing.
Juanico said DOH-6 was waiting for the RITM test results of the mortalities.
The four mortalities were reflected in the March 22 DOH summary of cases in the region.
Region 6 had 161 PUIs of which 61 were already discharged; 63 still in various hospitals; 33 were outpatients; and four mortalities.
Eighty-two of the total PUI cases tested negative for COVID-19; 43 were waiting for the test results as of this writing; while 33 were classified under “tests not done.”
The “not done” category was for PUIs with mild signs and symptoms, no co-morbidity, not elderly.
No need to test them as per March 11, 2020 COVID-19 Algorithm, said Juanico.
Confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the region remained at two as of yesterday (one in Bacolod City and one in Iloilo City).
Persons under monitoring in the region reached 31,860 – 4,610 in Aklan; 4,146 in Antique; 3,949 in Capiz; 621 in Guimaras; 8,962 in Iloilo; 6,315 in Negros Occidental; 1,294 in Bacolod City; and 1,963 in Iloilo City.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the most common symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, tiredness, and dry cough.
Some patients may have aches and pains, nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat or diarrhea.
These symptoms are usually mild and begin gradually. Some people become infected but don’t develop any symptoms and don’t feel unwell.
Most people (about 80 percent) recover from the disease without needing special treatment.
Around one out of every 6 people who gets COVID-19 becomes seriously ill and develops difficulty breathing.
Older people, and those with underlying medical problems like high blood pressure, heart problems or diabetes, are more likely to develop serious illness.
People with fever, cough and difficulty breathing should seek medical attention.
According to WHO, people can catch COVID-19 from others who have the virus. The disease can spread from person to person through small droplets from the nose or mouth which are spread when a person with COVID-19 coughs or exhales. These droplets land on objects and surfaces around the person.
Other people then catch COVID-19 by touching these objects or surfaces, then touching their eyes, nose or mouth.
People can also catch COVID-19 if they breathe in droplets from a person with COVID-19 who coughs out or exhales droplets. This is why it is important to stay more than one meter (three feet) away from a person who is sick./PN
amo gid ni gina kulbaan ko,amo na enhanced community quarantine kita kay wala sang mga test kit ang city government para pang testing sa suspected covid 19 infected persons, gina butang nila sa delikado ang mga nurses kag doktor. as what i have heard,damo nga nurses sa ospital ang mga nag awol na.