ILOILO City – Two more residents of Western Visayas tested positive for the virus that causes the pneumonia-like disease COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019). These brought to four the number of positive cases in the region, according to the Department of Health (DOH).
The new patients were a 61-year-old female from this city and a 45-year-old male from Jamindan, Capiz, said Dr. Marlyn Convocar, DOH Region 6 director.
Both patients had a history of travel to Metro Manila.
Convocar said the 61-year-old patient was coughing, had fever and diarrhea.
Isolated in a hospital here, the patient was stable, according to Convocar.
The 45-year-old patient, on the other hand, was diabetic and took maintenance medication. He was coughing and had fever, too.
“Contact tracing is now being initiated,” said Convocar. “We are advising those who have been in close contact with these two new cases to cooperate.”
Close contacts are defined as those providing direct care with a COVID-19 positive patient without personal protective equipment, staying in the same closed environment with the patient, and/or travelling in close proximity (one meter or less) in any kind of conveyance within the 14-day period after the onset of symptoms.
According to Capiz’s Gov. Esteban Evan Contreras, the patient arrived in Roxas City on March 4 and eight days later “manifested itchiness of the throat, fever and cough.”
The patient consulted with a private physician on March 16 and was classified a person under investigation (PUI).
He was eventually referred to the Roxas Memorial Provincial Hospital for quarantine, according to Contreras in a statement released yesterday.
“Currently, the patient has not shown signs of improvement since admission despite of the aggressive treatment,” according to the governor.
Last night, the patient was scheduled for transfer to the Western Visayas Medical Center (WVMC) in Iloilo City “for advance and appropriate medical management,” added Contreras.
WVMC has been identified by DOH as the dedicated facility for COVID-19 cases in Western Visayas.
The two new positive cases were among the 32 PUIs in the region whose specimens were sent to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) in Metro Manila on March 18 for analysis.
Results of the two arrived only yesterday. The local government unit of Jamindan, Capiz, the provincial government of Capiz and Iloilo City government were right away informed, said Convocar.
Another batch of 44 specimens was sent to the RITM on March 22. The results were yet to be released.
The first case of COVID-19 in the region was a 56-year-old male from Bacolod City who had a history of travel to the United Kingdom while the second case was a 65-year-old male from Guimbal, Iloilo who had exposure to relatives who had a history of travel to Japan and Canada.
Capiz’s Governor Contreras urged his constituents not to panic. He assured them that the provincial government was doing everything it could “to contain and management the threats” of COVID-19.
“Our enhanced community quarantine and border control, social distancing, intensified information education campaign, active surveillance system, and other proactive strategies are all in place,” emphasized Contreras.
Nationwide, DOH recorded 51 more cases of COVID-19 as well as two more deaths as of Tuesday afternoon.
This brought the total number of confirmed cases to 552 and of the death toll to 35. The number of recoveries is now at 20.
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 six 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./PN
