DUMAGUETE CITY, Negros Oriental- Classes in all levels in the entire province of Negros Oriental have been suspended.
Governor Roel Degamo signed on Thursday, March 12, 2020, Executive Order No. 17 series of 2020 suspending classes in all levels from March 13 to 17, 2020.
Bimbo Miraflor, provincial public information officer in a press briefing on Thursday afternoon, advised the students to stay at home and refrain from going to public places.
“Ang tumong ug tuyo ni Governor Degamo mao nga mahatagan ug igong panahon ang mga medical staff sa pagtrace sa mga nahimong contact sa pasyente nga nagpositibo sa COVID-19,” Miraflor said.
(The main purpose of the suspension of classes is to give medical staff enough time to trace the whereabouts of the persons who might have come in contact with the patient who tested positive for COVID-19)
Miraflor added that the municipal councilor of Tayasan who tested positive for the virus is still “fighting” for his life in the Intensive Care Unit ( ICU) of a hospital in Dumaguete City.
Miraflor belied reports that the patient died yesterday, March 11, 2020.
The other three Patients Under Investigation (PUIs) are improving, according to Miraflor.
He reported that as of today, March 12, 2020, there are 20 Patients Under Monitoring (PUMs) for having a history of travel to countries or territories with positive COVID-19 cases like Hongkong, South Korea, and China.
“Nobody is in the level to be a PUI,” Miraflor concluded.
Meanwhile, Dr. Liland Estacion, Incident Command System (ICS) commander and Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) chief said the contact tracing started today, Thursday, in the municipality of Tayasan.
According to Estacion health workers are to pick-up four (4) persons there who are “to be considered PUIs and are all family members of the Tayasan councilor also referred to as patient No. 39.
“To be considered nga PUIs kay gi refer ra man na. Until moabot na dinhi dili pa na namo i-confirm nga they are PUI’s. All of them are members of the family,” Estacion said.
Estacion added that the contact tracing is still ongoing and revealed that they already have some names.
“Mi attend man na siya (patient) ug recognition program and then daghan kaayo tAwo,” Estacion added.
She also revealed patient No. 39 also went to Greenhills after the national convention of the Philippine Councilors League (PCL). It was said earlier that the patient contracted the virus when he visited Greenhills in San Juan, Metro Manila. /rcg