CONTACT TRACING. Provincial Health Office chief Dr. Anna Ma. Teresa De Guzman (left) gives an update on tracing of the people who had close contact with the Australia-based Filipina who tested positive of coronavirus disease during a press conference Monday (March 9, 2020). De Guzman said in a forum Tuesday that they are about 80 percent on the contact-tracing. (Photo courtesy of provincial government of Pangasinan)
LINGAYEN, Pangasinan — About 80 percent of the total number of people who had close contact here with an Australia-based Filipina who tested positive of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) were already traced by the health authorities and none of them were showing symptoms of the virus.
In a forum Tuesday, Provincial Health Office chief Dr. Anna Ma. Teresa De Guzman said some of them went for check-ups in their respective health centers and they are asymptomatic so far.
“Those who (are) abroad also have themselves tested and they are negative of the virus based on their responses in their group chat,” she said.
De Guzman said they are working with the Department of Health and the Pangasinan Police Provincial Office in tracing those who had close contact with the Covid-19 case during her stay in Pangasinan.
The police even tapped the Commission on Elections to get the residential address of the persons who had attended the class reunion with the Australia-based Filipina.
De Guzman said the Filipina might have acquired the virus in Manila, where she stayed for another week after her visit to the province.
“As we know, there are many cases in the National Capital Region (NCR) and the patient stayed there for another week before she returned to Australia. Might be that because of her different activities, her immune system weakened as she returned to Manila from our province, making her susceptible to the virus,” she said.
She added the provincial government is still appealing to the remaining close contacts of the Australia-based Filipina while she was in the province to coordinate and cooperate with the health authorities.
Meanwhile, De Guzman said three patients under investigation (PUIs) are currently admitted and quarantined in the hospitals.
“One of the PUIs is a male who has travel history in Taiwan, the other one is a female who traveled from China, and they were both admitted over the weekend due to flu-like symptoms. While a five-year-old boy has travel history in Spain with his parents,” she said.
The parents of the boy were considered as persons under monitoring as they are not showing any flu-like symptoms, she added.
“Their specimens were sent to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine for testing. Usually, the results came after two days but it would be longer this time since there are many that needed to be tested, especially from the NCR,” she said.
De Guzman said the PHO has already issued an advisory for all establishments to make thermal scanners and alcohols or sanitizers to be readily available as a precautionary measure.
She also urged the bus terminals in the province to disinfect their buses.
“It is still considered a confined area that needed disinfection and sanitization for the safety of the public,” she said.
The DOH assures that the province remains Covid-19-free. (PNA)
