ILOILO – You may have SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and not know you are infecting others.
This was the case of a medical frontliner in Passi City – a 23-year-old woman working in a medical clinic. She learned she had the virus only on Aug. 7 when her clinic subjected its staff to COVID-19 tests.
But days before this, specifically on Aug. 2, there was a birthday party at the frontliner’s house in Barangay Poblacion Ilaya. It was attended by family members and some neighbors.
After the frontliner’s COVID status was revealed, all her close contacts – mostly family members – were subjected to tests.
The results came out just this Aug. 15 and 16 – eight family members tested positive for SARS-CoV-2.
“Puro ya man pamilya. Mga bugto na, tiya ya, nanay, lola na, pakaisa na. Amo da ya natabo sa balay nila. Amo dayan karon suspetso ko,” said Passi City’s Mayor Stephen Palmares.
The eight family members were moved to Passi City’s quarantine facility where the medical frontliner had been staying since her test result came out on Aug. 7.
All of them were asymptomatic or not showing signs and symptoms of COVID-19 such as cough and fever, according to Palmares.
To make sure the virus won’t spread farther, Palmares locked down 17 houses adjacent to the medical frontliner family’s compound.
Contact tracing and disinfection of the neighborhood were also launched on Aug. 16.
Houses on lockdown received assistance from the city government.
Medical technologists of the Passi City Health Office conducted contact tracing and swabbing the close contacts of the eight new COVID-19 cases.
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 also 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.
Just this Aug. 10, Palmares issued an order prohibiting public gatherings.
“All gatherings such as birthday or debut, sports events, fiestas, reception after baptism, funeral services and the like will not be allowed in our city for the meantime,” read part of the mayor’s order.
The prohibition should hopefully curb the local transmission of COVID-19, said Palmares.
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, according to the World Health Organization.
Older people, and those with underlying medical problems like high blood pressure, heart problems or diabetes, are more likely to develop serious illness./PN
