One of 12 Capitol workers infected with COVID-19 has died on June 27. | CDN file photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu Provincial Health Office (CPHO) confirmed that they had recorded a total of 12 employees of the Capitol who tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Dr. Christina Gianggo, CPHO chief, on Saturday, June 27, said that at least one of them had succumbed to the disease last Friday, June 26.
The patient was a 53-year-old male regular employee, who is a resident in Barangay Kamputhaw, Cebu City, and was diagnosed with hypertension, Gianggo said.
She said that he had been working for nearly 30 years in the Cebu Provincial government.
“He was immediately buried since he was confirmed to have COVID-19. Based on our clinic’s record, he has hypertension, too,” Gianggo told reporters in a teleconference.
The deceased worker, according to Gianggo, went to the Capitol’s clinic last June 15 to report a general feeling of being unwell. Swab samples were also extracted from him on that day.
“When we got the results, he was positive. And since he was a resident of Cebu City, we immediately referred him to CCQC (Cebu City Quarantine Center) because he was showing mild symptoms. But he was transferred to CCMC (Cebu City Medical Center) when his oxygen saturation dropped,” added Gianggo in Cebuano.
The CPHO has recorded a total of 12 Capitol employees confirmed to have been afflicted with COVID-19, and all happened to be residents of Cebu City where the seat of the provincial government is situated.
Of the figure, at least two have already recovered. This means that health officers are currently monitoring nine workers for their infection.
Gianggo said contact tracing had already been implemented on each confirmed patient and all suspected cases of COVID-19 in the Capitol.
“We’ve already advised those identified during the contact tracing to undergo home isolation while their offices and nearby areas are being disinfected regularly,” she added.
She said Capitol workers showing symptoms of COVID-19 such as nasal congestion, fever, and dry cough were no longer allowed to report to work.
“Also those with underlying health conditions, workers age 60 years old and above, and those living in hotspot barangays in Cebu City or barangays with high number of COVID-19 cases (were also no longer allowed to report to work),” she added.
Gianggo also said another Capitol worker — a 58-year-old woman suspected to have COVID-19 — died last June 25.
However, she clarified that the patient was not included in their official tally since her swab test results came out negative of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
Gianggo said they were still investigating the cause of her death.
Financial assistance, tuob
Gianggo also said families of the two Capitol employees, who recently died were granted financial assistance.
She added that both patients had not used steam inhalation, tuob in Cebuano, to alleviate their symptoms.
Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia has received wide criticisms from doctors after she reportedly promoted tuob as a cure to COVID-19, an allegation she has vehemently denied. /dbs