COVID-19 UPDATE. The Pangasinan Provincial Health Office (PHO) recorded nine confirmed cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in the province as of March 28. The latest case is a 75-year-old man from Barangay Poblacion Infanta town who had no travel history as confirmed by the municipal government. (Photo courtesy of Province of Pangasinan)
INFANTA, Pangasinan – The Pangasinan Provincial Health Office (PHO) recorded nine confirmed cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in the province as of March 28.
The latest case is a 75-year-old male from Barangay Poblacion here who had no travel history as confirmed by the municipal government on Saturday. He was admitted at the Region 1 Medical Center in Dagupan City due to flu-like symptoms on March 21.
The other news cases include former provincial board member Raul Sison of Urbiztondo town, according to the PHO.
In a statement issued on March 27 by Sison’s son, Urbiztondo Mayor Martin Raul Sison II said his father died of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Secondary to Pneumonia while admitted at The Medical City in Ortigas, Pasig City.
He said Sison last visited Urbiztondo during the wake of his mother on January 20-30, 2020. The former board member had a heart procedure in the previous years.
The younger Sison did not say in the statement if his father died of Covid-19.
He added that he and the town’s Vice Mayor Marilyn Sison are under self-quarantine.
PHO chief Dr. Anna Ma. Teresa De Guzman said the other new cases for Covid-19 is a resident of Barangay Salomague Sur, Bugallon town who failed to disclose that he is a patient under investigation (PUI); and a resident of Urdaneta City who already recovered days before his test result came out.
She said the patient from Bugallon town came from Metro Manila.
“He went to a hospital in Mandaluyong earlier to have a check-up because of his sore throat. However, he went back home to Pangasinan on March 26 without knowing his test results,” she said.
He also violated the Full Disclosure Policy as he failed to disclose that he is a PUI. His test results came out Friday afternoon.
De Guzman reminded quarantine checkpoint officers to tighten their security measures to prevent similar cases. The investigation is also ongoing on how the patient managed to enter numerous checkpoints.
Authorities also found out that the patient went back home along with five others.
Bugallon town Mayor Priscilla Espino ordered a total lockdown of the patient’s barangay.
The patient from Urdaneta City had already recovered from his ailment and finished his 14-day quarantine period when the result of the test came out.
“He will be under quarantine again, but this time, for a week only,” she said.
The Urdaneta City health office was also ordered to continuously monitor the patient, even if his symptoms would no longer manifest.
As of 9 a.m. March 28, five of the total Covid-19 cases are admitted at the hospitals while three have already died.
The Covid-19 cases who died aside from Sison are a sexagenarian Filipino-American patient from Rosales town on March 18 and a 70-year-old doctor from Bayambang town who died at the Lung Center of the Philippines, whose confirmation results came in later that day.
There are also 15 admitted PUIs, of which two died while waiting for the test result.
They are a department head in the Lingayen Municipal Government who died on March 25, and a 25-year-old male from Bani town who died the following day, while both are admitted at the R1MC.
Meanwhile, there are 74,966 persons under monitoring (PUMs), of which 57,864 are undergoing a 14-day quarantine, while the 17,028 have already completed their quarantine, and 74 did not complete their quarantine. (PNA)
