MORE NEGATIVE TESTS. The main entrance of Northern Mindanao Medical Center in Cagayan de Oro City that is currently holding patients under investigation for 2019 coronavirus disease. In a press briefing Monday (March 23), Dr. Jose Chan, NMMC medical center chief, says 14 more patients under investigation tested negative for the deadly virus over the weekend. (PNA photo by Nef Luczon)
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Fourteen persons quarantined at the state-run Northern Mindanao Medical Center (NMMC) here have tested negative of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), the hospital’s chief said Monday.
Dr. Jose Chan, NMMC medical center chief, said four of the patients have tested negative on Saturday (March 21), while the remaining 10 on Sunday (March 22). There are now 10 patients under investigation (PUIs) still on quarantine at the NMMC, he said, adding that most of them are doing well.
Most of the PUIs who have been cleared by the NMMC, he said, come from Cagayan de Oro and Bukidnon.
Chan said most of the patients who tested negative of Covid-19 had contracted the influenza virus. He said those patients have shown symptoms, the same if a person has contracted the coronavirus, like cough, colds, fever, and body pain.
The 14 PUIs, he said, were sent home after their health recovered even before their 14-day quarantine had ended.
“If the patients start to feel well after two weeks, we will discharge them, even if their test has not yet arrived,” Chan told reporters during the daily Covid-19 press briefing here.
Chan also announced that the 40 NMMC health workers who underwent the 14-day quarantine and who have tested negative of Covid-19 will be resuming their respective duties starting Tuesday (March 24).
As of Sunday (March 22), Northern Mindanao has 186 PUIs, 16 of whom are currently admitted at hospitals, 123 under quarantine, 10 have completed their 14-day quarantine, and 34 were discharged, according to the Department of Health's (DOH) Epidemiology, Surveillance and Disaster Response Unit.
Persons under monitoring (PUMs) in the region have reached 2,698, the DOH-Region 10 data said.
Of the 186 PUIs, three have died--one of whom tested positive for Covid-19.
The other two fatalities were women who succumbed to severe acute respiratory illness (Sari). They died March 18 at the NMMC while still on quarantine.
Chan said those who died of Sari were aged 33 to 44 years old and had preexisting medical conditions such as shortness of breath, diabetes, hypertension, and heart problem.
PUI death in Iligan
Meanwhile, in Iligan City, the operation of Adventist Medical Center in Iligan City said it has continued its operations despite the reported death of a PUI on Sunday evening.
A hospital source said the patient, who is from Lanao del Sur, was admitted at 3 p.m. on Sunday with breathing difficulty.
"The patient, who manifested flu-like symptoms, died around 9 p.m. without being tested for Covid-19. A swab sample was taken for testing. The cadaver is being sealed with the DOH bag," said the source, who did not want to be named as he was not authorized to speak with the media.
The cadaver will be released for burial following the Islamic traditions in compliance with the protocol of the Department of Health.
The Inter-Agency Task Force Covid-19 in Iligan had yet to issue a statement about the patient. (PNA)
