AN OVERSEAS Filipino worker from Abra who refused quarantine became the first coronavirus disease (Covid-19) patient in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).
Dr. Amelita Pangilinan, Department of Health (DOH)-Cordillera, said Patient 96 is a 39-year-old male seafarer who departed from the United Arab Emirates on March 2, 2020.
"The patient had a two hour lay-over and change of flight in Thailand before arriving in the Philippines and on March 9, 2020, he experienced fever and colds, so on March 10, he visited the hospital in La Union to fetch his mother who was currently admitted in the said facility," Pangilinan said.
Patient 96 had fever detected at the hospital triage area where subsequent sample was collected.
The patient was advised accordingly and went home to Manabo, Abra with his mother and siblings via an ambulance.
"On March 14, Saturday, DOH-CAR received the result of the case from the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) which yielded a positive result. DOH-CAR is in close coordination with the local government unit of Manabo, Abra, the Provincial Health Office, the Provincial DOH Office and DOH Region 1 for the implementation of infection prevention and control measures at the local level," Pangilinan stated.
At present, the patient has been transferred to a level 3 hospital in San Fernando, La Union.
Meanwhile, the Municipal Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit of Manabo is now conducting extensive information gathering and contact tracing activities together with the Provincial Health Office, which is also gathering information from the different municipalities where the case patient traveled.
A barangay in Manabo, Abra has been placed under community quarantine and the Provincial Task Force of Abra limited the travel inside and outside the province as public and private vehicles are only allowed to travel up to midnight daily.
"DOH advises all travelers coming from countries with cases who are without symptoms to undergo strict home quarantine for 14 days. DOH-CAR once again reminds everyone to practice personal preventive measures such as proper hand hygiene, cough etiquette and social distancing for preventive measures and avoid visiting public places, mass gatherings at these critical times and cooperate with health care workers and local government units to stop the spread of this disease to other communities," Pangilinan added.
Meanwhile, Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center Chief Dr. Ricardo Runez informed the public of the establishment of a triage area where patients having the signs and symptoms of Covid-19 will be stationed.
"As far as the BGHMC preparations are concerned, we have already set up the triage area to accept all referrals coming in including those that will be referred from the checkpoints manned by our police. We have also rerouted the traffic going in and out of the hospital so that we can at least separate those potentials positive Covid cases with the rest of the patients coming in to the hospitals," Runez said.
BGHMC is one of the five sub-hospitals identified as regional testing centers for Covid-19.