Dr. Liland Estacion |Photo by Florence Baesa
DUMAGUETE CITY, Negros Oriental- The Provincial Health Office is now monitoring the condition of four persons under investigation (PUI) for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
One of them is a 62-year-old male patient who came from a recent travel to Greenhills in San Juan City. The patient traveled to Negros Oriental on March 1 and was admitted at the Intensive Care Unit of a private hospital here after two days, said Dr. Liland Estacion, Incident Command System (ICS) commander and head of the Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO).
Estacion said in a press conference that was held this morning, March 11, 2020, at the provincial Capitol that the PUI is now experiencing severe respiratory pneumonia.
But when asked if the patient has been connected to a life-saving device, Estacion replied, “ I do not know.”
She said that the result of the patient’s swab test is expected to be released within the day.
Estacion also said that no lockdown has been implemented at the private hospital’s ICU where the patient is now confined.
This clarifies earlier reports that nurses at the hospital’s ICU were no longer allowed to go out of the premises.
Estacion said that nurses who were not allowed to leave the hospital were merely subjected to the 14-day quarantine, a must for hospital personnel who may have had direct contact with the patient.
The three other PUI’s include a Filipino couple aged 62 and 53-years-old who came from a recent travel to Japan. The third one is a 25-year-old Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) who recently arrived from Hong Kong.
But unlike the 62-year-old PIU, the three others were asked to undergo home quarantine.
Estacion said that a government doctor visits the three individuals two times a day and will continue to do so until such time that they are able to complete the 14-day quarantine period. / dcb