SUSPECTED nCoV CASE. The village in Naawan town, Misamis Oriental, where a 29-year-old overseas Filipino worker lives. She reportedly arrived in the country on February 2 and was brought by local authorities to a hospital the following day for coronavirus testing. (PNA photo by Divina M. Suson)
NAAWAN, Misamis Oriental -- An overseas Filipino worker (OFW) from this town was put in an isolation room in a hospital of a neighboring town a day after her arrival from Hong Kong on February 2.
Naawan Mayor Dennis Roa said Wednesday he came to know of the OFW's arrival in the town following a tipoff from a concerned citizen who reported that the person appeared to be sick.
On the evening of February 3, Roa said the local government's rescue unit picked up the 29-year-old woman from her house where she lives with her parents and a niece.
The suspected novel coronavirus case (nCoV) was immediately reported to the Department of Health (DOH), Roa said.
"Our rescue team picked her up and at first she was hesitant but the team explained to her the procedure and the mandate of the DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government) to help the DOH monitor possible cases of coronavirus," Roa said.
DOH-10 then tested the patient and the result is expected to be available on Friday (February 7), he said.
If the patient tested negative for the novel coronavirus, she will undergo a second swab test where the result will be available in 48 hours, he added.
Dr. Gwendelyn Labastilla, Rural Health Unit officer of the municipality, said the patient showed no signs of sickness.
"She is asymptomatic," Labastilla said during a briefing with the barangay officials and health personnel on Wednesday. (PNA)
