2 NorthCot OFWs under monitoring for COVID-19
COTABATO CITY – Health authorities in the North Cotabato town of M’lang are monitoring two female Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who recently returned home for possible infection from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the acute respiratory ailment that claimed many lives, mostly in China.
Minerva Suriaga, disease surveillance officer of M’lang municipal health office, said one of those placed under monitoring is an OFW from the United Kingdom whose plane had a stopover in Singapore.
The person arrived in M’lang on Feb. 5 with no ( symptoms of the disease but was placed under a 14-day quarantine by municipal health workers to ensure the safety of others.
“She was cooperative, there was no resistance,” Suriaga said in a local radio interview Friday, adding that a health worker regularly visits the OFW in her isolated quarters.
Suriaga also said that another OFW arrived home from Bahrain but her plane had a stopover in Hong Kong.
Both persons are listed as a “Person Under Monitoring (PUM)” and have so far shown no symptoms that they
are infected with the virus.
18 PUMs cleared
Meanwhile, at least 18 persons under monitoring for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Soccsksargen have been cleared by the Department of Health (DOH) after completing the mandatory quarantine.
Dr. Imelda Quiñones, chief of the DOH 12’s (Soccsksargen) epidemiology and surveillance unit, said Friday the PUMs did not manifest any sign and symptom of the deadly disease within the 14day quarantine period.
Quiñones said six of them underwent home and facility-based observation in North Cotabato, five in this city, four in Sarangani, two in South Cotabato, and one in Sultan Kudarat.
“All of them properly complied with the protocol for COVID-19,” Quiñones told reporters, adding that they consisted of four Chinese tourists from Fujian province. They were discharged early Thursday and allowed to take their flight to Manila.
As of Thursday, Quiñones said a total of 37 individuals have been quarantined in parts of Soccsksargen for COVID-19 monitoring.
She said they were classified as PUMs due to their history of travel to China and other countries with confirmed cases of the disease despite not showing its signs and symptoms.
Officials said the individuals were identified after arriving in the local airports and surveillance activities conducted by rural health units.
North Cotabato listed a total of 13 PUMs, followed by this city with 10, Sarangani with eight, South Cotabato with five, and Sultan Kudarat with one.
Quiñones said the lone patient under investigation (PUI) tested negative for the second time for COVID-19 and has already been discharged from the isolation facility of a private hospital here.
“As of today, we don’t have any PUI and there is no confirmed case of COVID-19 in the region,” she said.
Dr. Rochelle Oco, acting head of the City Health Office here, said they have expanded their surveillance activities to track down other residents and visitors who have a history of recent travel to countries affected by COVID-19.
Oco said their community-based monitoring is ongoing through the Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams (BHERT).
“We expect the number of PUMs to increase in the coming days through our partnership with the BHERTs,” she said.
Oco advised residents to remain calm and assured that the local government has been closely working with the DOH and concerned agencies to prevent the spread of the disease to the area.