Bohol has recorded its first COVID-19 Delta variant death, said Dr. Yul Lopez, spokesperson of the Bohol Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF).
Lopez, in a press briefing earlier this week, said the COVID-19 fatality was among the five Delta variant cases involving Bohol residents that were reported by the Philippine Genome Center on August 27, 2021.
The fatality was a 77-year-old man from San Miguel.
Meanwhile, the four other persons who contracted the more virulent variant have recovered, said Lopez.
According to San Miguel Mayor Virgilio Mendez, the town’s first reported Delta variant carrier died on July 18, 2021 but the local government unit was only notified that the person had contracted the variant on August 28, 2021.
Mendez said the fatality who had comorbidities was hospitalized on June 30 and was tested for coronavirus on July 5. He however yielded a negative result and was later discharged from the hospital.
The patient was again rushed to the hospital on July 14 due to what was initially considered as an asthma attack but he later tested positive for COVID-19. He died on July 18 and was immediately buried.
Mendez noted that the patient was a farmer who had no travel history.
Several of his relatives also tested positive for COVID-19 but were able to recover.
“We do not know if naka suroy ba pud ni sa pikas na barangay, kay wala pa lagiy gibati sa mao na ni karon,” said Mendez.
Mendez added that the senior citizen may have contracted the virus during his initial hospital visit in June, but there was no way to prove if he was indeed infected at the health facility.
The chief executive also raised concern over the late reporting of the variant detection, but assured that they followed contact-tracing and quarantine protocols despite not knowing that the patient was Delta carrier.
“Manakla nalang ka kay nahuman naman, nalubong naman so the next thing you will do is kining contact tracing you have to give more emphasis, maninkamot jud ka. Inig abot sa positive, karag-karag jud ka pasubay,” said Mendez. (A. Doydora)