MANILA – A male resident of Dumaguete City was among the 16 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the country yesterday, making him the first confirmed case in the Visayas.
Department of Health (DOH) assistant secretary Ma. Rosario Vergeire said last night the first Visayas COVID-19 patient was 62 years old and currently admitted at the Ace Dumaguete Doctors hospital.
This Visayan case had a history of travel to Greenhills Shopping Center in San Juan City, Metro Manila where two confirmed COVID-19 cases were confirmed by DOH recently.
Health authorities launched “contact tracing” vis-à-vis this Visayan case, said Vergeire.
There were 31 more possible COVID-19 cases pending confirmation while 68 persons under investigation were still confined at various hospitals across the country, according to the DOH’s online case tracker.
The Philippines experienced a sudden surge in COVID-19 infections on Monday; cases doubled to 20 overnight, a development that Vergeire attributed to DOH’s improved surveillance system.
Earlier in the day, Cabinet secretary Karlo Nograles said state health insurer PhilHealth would shoulder the cost of COVID-19 testing fees on top of coverage of quarantine and isolation costs.
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.
WHO said it is assessing ongoing research on the ways COVID-19 is spread and will continue to share updated findings./PN
