Eastern Visayas posts 93 percent COVID-19 recovery
Repeat swab is no longer necessary at the end of the 14 days quarantine
PALO, Leyte — Recoveries from the coronavirus disease COVID-19 in Eastern Visayas is now fast catching up with the number of infected patients with 607 individuals out of 653 positive cases, or a recovery rate of 93 percent, in the region are now declared as recovered, according to the Department of Health (DoH) regional office.
The DoH made the confirmation on Monday, 13 July, noting that Eastern Visayas now has only 46 active cases scattered in different isolation facilities in Leyte, Southern Leyte, Biliran, Samar and Northern Samar.
Not all of these deemed recovered patients, however, underwent real-time reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing, considered the gold standard of COVID-19 testing.
Based on the DoH guidelines, confirmed COVID-19 patients are considered recovered if consecutive RT-PCR tests yielded negative results and the patient had wrapped up the mandatory 14-day quarantine without exhibiting symptoms of the viral disease.
In a statement issued last 30 June, the DoH regional office said it will rationalize the testing and prioritize patients “due to the global shortage of testing kits and other supplies and the limitation in local capacity for testing.”
Priority in the testing will be given to patients or healthcare workers with severe or critical symptoms and with relevant travel history, patients and health workers with mild symptoms and those considered vulnerable to infection.
Among the returning locally stranded individuals, only symptomatic returnees will be swabbed and strictly quarantined for 14 days.
“Repeat swab is no longer necessary at the end of the 14 days quarantine,” part of the statement read.
John Paul Roca, DoH regional information officer, said only three out of 653 cases have so far exhibited severe symptoms while 92.11 percent of the patients were asymptomatic and 7.43 percent had mild symptoms.