THE Department of Health (DOH)-Northern Mindanao is urging persons who have close contacts with Covid-19-positive persons to approach a health personnel for medical assessment.
This came after the DOH-Northern Mindanao reported that two persons who earlier died of flu symptoms tested positive for the coronavirus disease.
DOH-Northern Mindanao Director Dr. Adriano Suba-an said in a teleconference Friday, April 3, that a 42-year-old male from Iligan City and a 50-year-old male from Bubong, Lanao del Sur tested positive for Covid-19.
The man from Iligan was admitted last March 22 with chief complaints of cough, headache, and colds. He had a direct contact with a confirmed positive case.
He died last March 28.
The man from Lanao del Sur was also admitted on March 22 and died on the same day.
He was admitted with chief complaints of cough, headache and difficulty of breathing. He also had a direct contact with a confirmed positive case.
As of April 3, Northern Mindanao has confirmed five positive cases.
Meanwhile, the health department in the region said there are a total of 321 patients under investigation (PUIs) in the region, of which 49 are still admitted.
Some 59 PUIs are also undergoing home quarantine, while 165 PUIs have been cleared after completing their quarantine period.
To date, there are 4,439 persons under monitoring (PUMs), 94 of them are undergoing the 14-day quarantine, while 4,345 have completed the quarantine period.
The DOH-Northern Mindanao said it has identified 131 public facilities all over the region that can be converted into isolation units for PUIs in case a surge of cases will occur.
The 131 facilities can accommodate 783 cases, but in a surging capacity, can take in 3,762 cases but will need an additional 2,979 beds.