NOTE: This story was first published in The Bohol Chronicle’s Sunday print edition.
Bohol recorded its second and third Covid-19 deaths on Friday and Saturday.
With all three fatalities recorded as local residents, health authorities raised the alarm of a “community transmission”of the virus thus residents are warned to be cautious in their daily activities especially on social distancing and wearing of mask.
The patient from Calape was admitted on July 14 at the Governor Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital (GCGMH) and died the following day.
GCGMH confirmed that the case was managed as Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) or community-acquired pneumonia (high-risk) and had existing complicated co-morbid conditions.
It is the third Covid-19 death in Bohol.
Meanwhile, the active Covid patients as of yesterday rose to 24 after 12 were added last Friday, six from Tagbilaran, two each from Tubigon and Ubay while one each from Alicia and Carmen.
The one in Carmen is an Authorized Personnel Outside Residence (APOR) and not a returning locally stranded individual nor an OFW and has been in quarantine since arrival.
The two of the six new Covid cases in Tagbilaran are also APORs and have been in quarantine since their arrival.
In a statement dated July 18, 2020, GCGMH conveyed that its Hospital Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit has initiated contact tracing in coordination with their Infection Prevention and Control Unit and local and regional authorities have been notified of this action.
On July 15, a patient from the town of Danao also died at GCGMH.
The patient was immediately buried at nighttime on the same day he died.
Danao Mayor Jose Cepedoza told the Chronicle that the sub-village in barangay Poblacion of his town has been placed in lockdown since then and contact tracing continues.
The patient, who tested positive of Covid-19 in the PCR test, was admitted at GCGMH for community-acquired pneumonia and managed as SARI patient and died eight days after.
According to Cepedoza, the patient had been known to have been in and out of GCGMH even before the pandemic erupted, for his asthma attacks.
The first Covid-19 patient was the 89-year-old resident of Pangangan Island in Calape who was rushed to GCGMH for difficulty in breathing around 9 pm. on May 25 and a swab sample was taken from him on May 26.
Around 6 p.m. on the same day (May 26), he died due to severe myocardial infarction secondary to community-acquired pneumonia and was buried on May 27, within 12 hours after death per protocol observed since the onset of Covid pandemic in March.
It was only on June 4 that the RT-PCR test result came out from Cebu which proved him positive of Covid 19.
COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION
With three Covid 19 fatalities who are local residents, health authorities raised the alarm of a community transmission of the virus in the province.
The 76-year old female resident of barangay Looc, Calape town was first admitted at the Borja Hospital last June 29 due to gastric ulcer, kidney problem and gouty arthritis. She checked out from the hospital July 5 and was readmitted at the Gov. CelestinoGallares Regional Hospital last July 14 but expired the following day, according to Calape Mayor Nelson Yu when interviewed by dyRD’s “Tagbilaran-By-Nite” last night.
Dr. Kismet Macuno, Gov. Gallares Hospital chief told the Chronicle that the results of her PCR test yielding to be Covid positive was released by the Department of Health (Region 7) yesterday afternoon.
Dr. Macuno, in a text message to the Chronicle said “it is time to make the people more aware that the virus is really just around the corner and it can strike anytime. So we must never let our guard down.” She quoted Dr. Ellen Salada, internist specializing on infectious diseases, saying this is now a community transmission of the virus considering that the three fatalities are not Overseas Contract Workers (OFW) nor Locally Stranded Individuals (LSI) .
Health authorities are doubling their contact tracing efforts to determine where these Covid 19 patients got contaminated with the virus.
The contact tracing of the latest fatality reached purok 2 of Dao district this city as she stayed with her sister several days after checking out from Borja Hospital before going back to Looc, Calape town.
City Mayor Baba Yap, in a separate interview said the house in Dao was immediately checked. No one was residing in the house when visited by health authorities. However, monitoring in the area will continue today.
Well meaning residents asked health authorities to do rigid check on the places where the fatality went including the vehicles he rode to and from Calape town to this capital city.