BAGUIO CITY – Regional health authorities disclosed that the Cordillera remains free from the dreaded Corona Virus Disease (COVID) 2019 amidst the presence of ten persons under investigation (PUIs) for having symptoms of the virus and history of travel to China, HongKong, Macau and Taiwan.
DOH-CAR regional director Dr. Amelita M. Pangilinan said that of the 10 PUIs, 4 individuals are new COVID suspects while 6 others are carry over from the previous number of PUIs.
Of the 10 PUIs, 4 are from Baguio City, 3 come from Abra, 2 are from Benguet and 1 is from Mountain Province. The 4 new PUIs are composed of 2 from Baguio City and 1 each from Benguet and Abra.
Moreover, Pangilinan said that 8 PUIs are in strict confinement in their respective homes while 2 others are confined in medical facilities.
The DOH-CAR official disclosed that the increase in the number of PUIs is a welcome development because people are now aware of the symptoms of the disease and that they are now seeking immediate medical attention from medical facilities in their places.
“We advise sick people to better stay at home and not to stay in crowded places so as not to complicate their heal condition and spread their illness,” Pangilinan stressed.
She said that the health department is grateful to the PUIs for voluntarily submitting themselves for the conduct of the needed tests on whether or not they were able to contract the virus while in the said countries.
According to her, the number of days that a person under investigation has stayed in the said countries does not matter but what matters is their exposure to people that tested positive for the virus considering the animal to human and human to human transmission of the said illness.
Pangilinan also disclosed that some 21 individuals who had been classified as persons under monitoring for having been close contacts of the identified PUIs in the region to help ascertain their health conditions considering their exposure to the said PUIs.
The health official reminded residents in the different parts of the region that the best way to combat the spread of the virus is for everyone to keep their immune system strong by eating the right kind of food, having sufficient slipped and exercise and observe healthy lifestyle.
Further, she claimed that one of the elements of the spread of the virus is the prevailing cold weather condition which is suitable for the same but the region is still fortunate that there are no confirmed nCoV cases, thus, the need for vigilance among the citizens form them to be able to prevent the possible presence of cases that will have a significant impact to the region’s robust economy.
Health officials are keeping their fingers crossed that there will be no confirmed nCoV cases in the region in the coming weeks until the situation normalizes in the coming weeks considering that the number of affected individuals is significantly decreasing over the past several days which is an indication that something is being done to control the spread of the dreaded illness.
By Dexter A. See
