Another NegOr PUI dies while waiting for swab test results

By: Florence Baesa - 5 years ago

Dr. Liland Estacion, Negros Oriental IPHO head and ICS commander. | CDND File Photo

DUMAGUETE CITY, Negros Oriental-A person under investigation (PUI) for the coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID-19) died last night, March 28, 2020, while admitted to a private hospital here.

The PUI, a 39-year-old male patient, died while awaiting results of his swab test that was sent to the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City on the same day, said Dr. Liland Estacion, commander of the COVID-19 Incident Command System (ICS).

Estacion said that the PUI died at 9:38 p.m. due to acute respiratory failure, acute respiratory distress syndrome secondary to high-risk pneumonia, hypertensive cardiovascular disease, and immune thrombocytopenic purpura.

Immune thrombocytopenic purpura is a bleeding disorder wherein blood platelets are destroyed by the immune system. The presence of low platelet count causes easy bruising and bleeding.

However, Estacion said that she still could not confirm if the patient’s death was COVID-19 related.

Estacion said that the PUI, a Dumaguete City resident, recently visited Cebu and may have contracted the virus during said visit.

At least five individuals have already been reported dead in Negros Oriental.

But only two of them, the Tayasan town councilor and his sister-in-law, tested positive for COVID-19 infection.

Two female PUIs, who died earlier, tested negative for COVID-19 while the test results of the 39-year-old fatality remain unavailable. / dcb