ILOILO City – The medical/surgical ward of the Western Visayas Medical Center (WVMC) in Mandurriao district has been temporarily locked down. A 13-year-old boy patient tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
The lockdown was effected on Friday night, July 10, right after the boy’s reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test was released.
The boy was a resident of Badiangan, Iloilo. He had been designated as Western Visayas’ COVID-19 Patient No. 461.
According to Dr. Felice Molina, infection prevention and control chairperson of WVMC, the boy was transferred to the hospital on July 5 from the Federico Roman Tirador Sr. Memorial District Hospital in Janiuay, Iloilo. He fell from a mango tree and needed surgery.
The boy’s July 6 surgery was successful, according to Molina.
On July 8, however, while still convalescing at WVMC, the boy had fever, a symptom of COVID-19, so he underwent COVId-19 testing. The result was released on July 10.
The lockdown of the medical/surgical ward was a precautionary measure. It would also give WVMC time to disinfect it.
As this was being written it was unclear how the boy contracted the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Contact tracing was launched.
The boy was transferred to the hospital’s COVID ward right after his test result was known.
An initial assessment counted around 128 possible contacts – the boy’s parents, WVMC medical personnel who tended the boy and other patients at the medical/surgical ward.
Their degree of exposure to the boy – how physically close were they and how long their interaction was – would be assessed.
If their proximity to the boy was a meter or less and their interaction reached 15 minutes, they would be deemed close contacts of the patient and would be recommended for RT-PCR COVID-19 testing, said Molina.
She did not say when the medical/surgical ward would reopen but indicated it would depend on the results of the boys’ contacts’ COVID-19 tests.
Molina also said it was too early to say if the boy’s COVID-19 infection was a case of community infection.
“Ang problema naton sa COVID-19, we are seeing more and more asymptomatic cases so anything can happen,” said Molina.
She reminded the public to follow Department of Health (DOH) advisories such as wearing facemask, observing physical distancing and proper washing of hands with soap and water.
Meanwhile, Mayor Serafin Villa of Badiangan said the boy’s contracting COVID-19 was puzzling considering that his town did not have prior cases of the disease.
“Ang bata dira man lang na sa balay nila. Wala sia travel history kag wala man exposure sa COVID-19 patients,” Villa told Panay News.
He ordered the Municipal Health Office to conduct contact tracing over the weekend and today around 40 close contacts of the boy in their neighborhood (family members, neigbhors, friends) wound undergo RT-PCR COVID-19 testing.
Just this July 3 a patient at the orthopedic ward of WVMC tested positive for COVID-19. The hospital quickly locked down a portion of the ward to stop the virus from spreading.
The patient was a 72-year-old male from Igbaras, Iloilo, according to Dr. Stephanie Abello, chief pathologist of the WVMC sub-national laboratory where the region’s COVID-19 tests are conducted.
Patient No. 360 was admitted at WVMC on June 25. He had chest pains and the attending physician eventually contemplated heart surgery.
He was tested on July 1. The positive result was released on July 3 and the lockdown was right away decided./PN
