BAGUIO CITY – Regional health authorities disclosed that the Cordillera remains free from the dreaded 2019 Novel Corona Virus (nCoV) amidst the presence of seven 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 7 PUIs, 4 tested negative of the virus based on the results of their respective confirmatory tests from the Manila-based Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) while 3 persons have been elevated as PUIs because of their history of travel to the said countries.
She added that the 3 PUIs in the region include an English teacher from China and 2 domestic helpers from HongKong who are reportedly spending a vacation in the country considering that they are from Benguet, Abra and Mountain Province.
The DOH-CAR official disclosed that the 4 individuals that tested negative for the virus were the first reported PUIs in the region while the three other PUIs have been the latest individuals that were elevated to the status of PUIs as they reportedly posses symptoms of the virus aside from having history of travel to the said countries.
“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 umber 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
Photo by: Armando M. Bolislis
