THE Davao Regional Medical Center (DRMC) said the health condition of the 21-year-old Filipina, the first confirmed case of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in Davao Region, has improved, while contact tracing is being done to prevent local transmission.
Dr. Bryan Dalid, chief of DRMC, said in a virtual press conference on Monday, March 16, that they get another combined nasopharyngeal (NP) and oropharyngeal (OP) swabs from the patient, who is identified as PH130, and sent it to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) to check if she is still positive for the virus.
On Sunday, March 15, the laboratory result from the patient, who is a resident of Davao de Oro, arrived and showed that she is positive for Covid-19.
The patient arrived in the Philippines from the United Kingdom with lay-over via Doha, Qatar to Manila, then to Davao on February 29, 2020.
Dalid said that contrary to what is circulating online, the patient no longer has signs and symptoms of Covid-19 such as fever, cough, and colds, adding that she is currently isolated in Emerging Re-emerging Infectious Disease (Eried) ward while waiting for the result of her second test.
“Amo ning ginahimo because this is one of the parameters para ma-discharge nato ang pasyente (We are doing this as part of the parameters before we discharge our patients),” he said.
Although the patient is no longer showing signs and symptoms, they have to see to it that she is negative from the coronavirus.
“Since the beginning, Davao Regional Medical Center has constituted measures already in terms of how to manage kining Covid. Boot pasabot niini, naay established na nga team of doctors and nurses, medical, paramedical to take care of these patients,” he added.
Dalid said the DRMC has a total of 47 isolation rooms and should there be a sudden influx of patients under investigation (PUI), their facility, equipment, and materials are enough as long as the releasing of results is on time.
To date, DRMC discharged 11 patients after their condition improved, while 15 PUIs are currently admitted.
Dalid also said those at risk with high number of morbidity and mortality due to the virus include the elderly, immune-compromised people, those in dialysis and undergoing chemotherapy, those diagnosed with cancer, and pregnant women.
Department of Health (DOH) Davao Regional Epidemiology Surveillance Unit (Resu) head Dr. Cleofe Tabada said following the confirmation of Davao Region's first Covid-19 case, they are conducting contact tracing to locate people who had contact with PH130.
They first contacted the immediate family and friends of the patient, as well as those whom she had close contact with while on her way to Davao. They started tracing the people she hanged out with and the places she went to before she was admitted.
As of Monday, March 16, they are waiting for the list of the passengers she was with during her flight onboard the Philippine Airlines.
There were already two passengers who went to DOH but the two did not manifest signs and symptoms.
Tabada, meanwhile, called on other passengers to go to the nearest hospitals and submit themselves for testing.