DAVAO CITY —– Residents of Hagonoy in Davao del Sur got the shock of their lives when Mayor Franco M. Calida has confirmed the second Coronavirus-19 positive case in the municipality, involving the mother of the first reported case who is a ten-year-old female cancer patient.
Carlito, a private company employee told Newsline “Nag-amping jud mi diri pagsugod pa lang sa Covid, pero nakuratan mi pag-sulti ni Mayor Calida nga naa na mi positive. Pwerte gyud namong hadluka (We’d been very careful since the Covid issue cropped up, but we were shocked when Mayor Calida said we have positive cases. We were so scared).
Calida who was interviewed by the Philippine Information Agency told the PIA “That the patients recently had constant exposure to the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) in Davao City, where they were preparing for the blood transfusion of the child.”
The same PIA report said that Calida revealed, that on May 31, the 39-year-old mother tested positive remains asymptomatic.
Based on the narrative of the report, the mother’s child who manifested symptoms on May 26, was confirmed positive on May 29 along with the other eight confirmed cases in the province.
The mother and child who are from Barangay Hagonoy Crossing, are now admitted at the SMPC, according to Calida as he assured no further local transmission in Hagonoy, so far.
The father and his three other children were subjected to the Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) where they tested negative, and that they are currently undergoing a 14-day home quarantine, the report stated.
The patient is the 14th and the latest confirmed COVID-19 case in Davao del Sur as of Sunday.
Other cases :
Davao del Norte Governor Edwin Jubahib in an interview with Newsline earlier said the reported Covid-19 death in the Island Garden City of Samal was not a coronavirus positive when she left the island for medication at the SPMC.
Jubahib revealed the woman was a cancer patient and has been going in and out of the Samal District Hospital but when she complained difficulty in breathing, she was immediately sent to SMPC.
Upon arrival at the SPMC, she immediately underwent an RDT test which yielded a negative result. She was placed in isolation facility along with other Covid-19 patients. Two days after, she was tested positive and died.
Jubahib said all frontliners and hospital staff and everyone in Samal who was exposed to the patient underwent swab tests but yielded a negative result.
Based on Calida and Jubahib’s narrative, their constituents most probably acquired the dreaded virus inside the government hospital.-Editha Z. Caduaya