Baguio City March 19 – The Cordillera office of the Department of Health (DOH-CAR) announced that the number of persons under investigation (PUIs) increased to 61 in the light of the ongoing implementation of the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine due to the continuous surge in the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) cases aggravated by the prevailing community transmission of the deadly virus.
DOH-CAR regional director Dr. Amelita M. Pangilinan said that of the 61 PUIs that come from different parts of the region, 40 persons were already discharged from the health facilities where they were previously confined while 21 individuals are still awaiting their confirmatory test results from the Manila-based Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM).
Based on the data from the DOH-CAR, Baguio recorded the highest number of PUIs with 29 followed by Benguet with 12, Abra – 19 PUIs, Mountain Province – 6 and Kalinga – 3.
“We just have to continue heeding the call for us to stay at home if we do not have any important things outside because we expect the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases to surge in the coming days and the worst is yet to come,” Pangilinan stressed.
The DOH-CAR official underscored that COVID-19 is now within our midst and that it is now for real in the country, thus, people should be more vigilant on what is happening around them to be able to adopt to the prevailing situation and cooperate with the authorities in the implementation of stringent rules and regulations that will ensure their safety and spare them from contracting the deadly virus.
According to her, the different public and private hospitals in the region are ready to serve suspected COVID-19 patients wanting to undergo medical checkup but it should be emphasized that those that will be allowed to undergo the initial screening of swab samples are those that have severe symptoms of the virus aside from having underlying medical conditions.
Pangilinan underscored that technically, most of the residents in the city are persons under monitoring because of their exposure to their family members and relatives who recently travelled to countries and other areas in the country with confirmed COVID-19 cases, thus, it is important for the people to take advantage of the enhanced community quarantine to stay at home and undergo the proposed 14-day quarantine period.
She emphasized that the 39-year old seaman from Manabo, Abra which was the region’s first confirmed COVID-19 case is now doing well in his residence and awaiting the end of the 14-day quarantine period although he is suffering from slight colds.
The DOH-CAR regional director explained that the first COVID-19 case in the region was advised to undergo strict home quarantine with close supervision from health workers because he possessed mild symptoms of the deadly virus while the more than 515 persons under monitoring who got in contact with him have also undergone the prescribed quarantine in their respective homes.
Pangilinan reiterated previous advisories by the health department to practice healthy lifestyle for them to avoid contracting the deadly virus and other ailments.
By Hent
