BY IME SORNITO and GLENDA TAYONA
ILOILO – Panay Island’s and this province’s first confirmed case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a 65-year-old man, was discharged from the hospital yesterday afternoon, proving that SARS-Cov-2, the virus causing the illness, is beatable.
He is the region’s sixth case to recover from the disease.
Also Western Visayas’ COVID-19 Patient No. 2, the man from Guimbal town already tested negative for the virus, said Dr. Jay Dorin, municipal health officer of Guimbal.
The man was treated at The Medical City in Molo, Iloilo City.
From the hospital, he was taken to his house by the ambulance of the local government of Guimbal, Dorin told Panay News.
But while already given a clean bill of health, the man will be monitored for 14 more days, clarified Dorin.
A repeat test would also be conducted on the man, he added.
Dorin also said the man would continue to observe COVID-19 precautionary measures such as frequent handwashing/disinfection and wearing of facemask.
The man lives alone with his wife in their house, said Dorin.
It was on March 21 when the Department of Health (DOH) confirmed the man to be Region 6’s second COVID-19 case; the first was a man in Bacolod City.
“He was admitted to an Iloilo City hospital after experiencing cough and fever,” said Dr. Marlyn Convocar, DOH-6 director.
The man had no history of travel to places with confirmed COVID-19 cases but got exposed to relatives who traveled to Japan and Canada.
He had fever on March 6 and was hospitalized on March 13.
On the other hand, said Dorin, the man’s househelp who also tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus continued to be asymptomatic (not showing symptoms) and remained on home quarantine.
The househelper, 51, was recorded as the region’s COVID-19 Patient No. 18.
Yesterday morning she underwent another test; the result would be known within three days, said Dorin.
The househelp had no known contact; she lived alone, added the Guimbal health officer.
Meanwhile, all the 15 close contacts of the third confirmed COVID-19 case in Guimbal – the region’s Patient No. 22 – tested negative for the virus, said Dorin.
Patient No. 22 was a 58-year-old male. He died on March 30.
He had a history of travel to Metro Manila; he returned to Guimbal on March 13, said Dorin.
The man started coughing on March 19 and had a private doctor check him out. On March 27 he was hospitalized. He died on April 3.
As of yesterday, according to DOH-6, Western Visayas had 40 confirmed COVID-19 cases, six of whom recovered while seven died.
Aside from the Guimbal case who recovered, the other recent case to overcome the virus was a 41-year-old female from EB Magalona, Negros Occidental – the region’s 15th confirmed COVID-19 case.
The other COVID-19 patients in the region who recovered much earlier included a 61-year old female (Patient No. 3) from Mandurriao, Iloilo City; a 56-year-old male from Bacolod City (Patient No. 1); a 28-year-old male from Bacolod City (Patient No. 9); and a 45-year-old male from Jamindan, Capiz (Patient No. 4).
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.
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./PN
