Zamboanga City's dead PUI negative for Covid-19

MAYOR Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar, chairperson of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) task force, announced Thursday, March 26, that the patient under investigation (PUI) who died five days ago was negative for Covid-19. Salazar made the announcement based on the test results the task force received Wednesday, March 25, from the Department of Health's (DOH) Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITIM). The PUI, who died on March 21 in a local hospital, was a married 57-year-old female from Zamboanga City. She was admitted in the hospital on March 18. City Health Officer Dulce Amor Miravite said the patient was one of the 28 PUIs they have recorded since January in the city. The PUI was a known diabetic with history of travel to United Kingdom in January 2020 and also local travel, said the DOH said. The DOH said the patient had an initial working diagnosis of urinary tract infection. Salazar called on the public to "continue to pray for the eternal repose of her (PUI) soul and may God comfort her family as they grieve for their loss." She also warned against public disclosure of sensitive data of any and all PUIs and persons under monitoring, or Covid-19 patients, as this is a violation of the Data Privacy Act and violators can be penalized under the law. (SunStar Zamboanga)