By ANALOU DE VERA
Two of new confirmed cases of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the country are patients quarantined at the New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac, the Dartment of Health (DoH) bared Tuesday.
Assistant Secretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that there are now 33 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country.
One of the new cases is a 31-year-old Filipino, who was repatriated from the M/V Diamond Princess cruise ship. He is asymptomatic and is now admitted at the New Clark City quarantine facility. He was considered as the country’s 25th case.
Another repatriate from the said cruise ship, a 34-year-old Filipino, also tested positive for the said disease. He is also asymptomatic and is also admitted to the New Clark City quarantine facility.
A 42-year-old Filipina, with no travel history to COVID-affected countries, was also found positive for the coronavirus. She experienced cough and is currently confined at the Medical City.
The 28th case involves a 69-year-old Filipino with history of exposure to a known COVID-19 case. He experienced symptoms of fever and cough and is now admitted at the Medical City.
An 82-year-old Filipina was the country’s 29th confirmed case. She has a history of exposure to a COVID-19 case, who is asymptomatic and is now confined at the Medical City.
The 30th confirmed case involves a 69-year-old Filipina with history of exposure to a COVID-19 case. She experienced unspecified symptoms and is now undergoing treatment at the Medical City.
A 28-year-old Filipino female with no travel history was also found positive for the virus. She experienced unspecified symptoms and is now also confined at the Medical City.
Undergoing treatment at the same hospital is a 64-year-old Filipino with no travel history. He experienced unspecified symptoms. A 60-year-old Filipino with no travel history is also confined in the hospital. He experienced fever, cough, and dizziness.
Meanwhile, Vergeire said the country’s 5th case — a 62-year-old man and considered the first local transmission case, and the 9th confirmed case — an 86-year-old American — were still in “guarded” condition. There were circulating reports that the two patients already died.
“Hindi po pa sila patay. Gusto natin klaruhin ‘yan. Sila po ay parehong guarded ang condition. Ibig sabihin because of co-morbidities na kasama doon sa kanilang pagkakaroon ng COVID-19 ay mas medyo kritikal ang lagay nila sa ngayon at binabantayan maigi sa referral hospitals (They are not dead. We just want to clarify that. They are both in guarded condition. They are both in critical condition because of co-morbidities aside from contracting COVID-19. They are closely being monitored in our referral hospitals),” said Vergeire.
NO COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION
The Health official said that they are still not declaring a community transmission.
“We are awaiting gene sequencing where we analyze the samples from our patients, who are positive, so we can determine if there are epidemiological links to one another,” said Vergeire.
“We need to get all information by tonight (Tuesday) so that we can readily analyze and conclude whether there is a sustained community transmission,” she added.
“We want to analyze the data immediately because we don’t want to be late in declaring a community transmission so that our response will be amplified accordingly,” she furthered.
Vergeire said that they will possibly impose a lockdown if a community transmission was already detected in a certain area.
“We reach the point of a lockdown when we are already in Code Red Alert Sublevel 2, wherein we have a sustained transmission. That is where a lockdown strategy can be employed,” she said.
