7 Covid-19 patients in Baguio City recover

A HEALTH WORKER checks a COVID - 19 frontliner in Baguio City last week.

By Carilito C. Dar

BAGUIO CITY --The city government reported  the recovery of two more COVID -19 confirmed patients in Baguio bringing to seven or 50 percent of the 14 confirmed cases recorded in the city.

               This, as another case was reported Friday, but health authorities have yet to validate it.

Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center Chief Ricardo Ruñez Jr. led   hospital personnel today in sending off  the two patients who recovered from COVID-19. They are Baguio’s sixth and seventh patient to have healed from the virus.

Of the seven patient recoveries, three are senior citizens, two in their 50’s, a 49  and a 31 year old.

As of the 1pm, April 7, a report of the City Health Services Office (CHSO) said there is no new positive case recorded in the city in the past nine days and the confirmed cases remain at 14.

Aside from the seven patients that recovered, six were admitted in hospitals while one died.  

The 55 - year old woman who died last March 19 had comorbid condition- lung infection.   

There are also 16 Persons under Investigation(PUI) admitted in health facilities and 362 PUIs under home isolation.  There   are 1,004 Persons under Monitoring(PUMs) completing their 14 - day home quarantine.

Seven PUIs/PUMs are in a city isolation facility, based on the CHSO report .

As another strategy of the city in the fight against COVID – 19, the CHSO on April 4 started conducting rapid tests to   health workers and PUIs who are under home isolation with manifestation of mild symptoms.

City HSO Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit Dr. Donnabel Tubera explained that the test kits donated to the city use a Lateral Flow Immunochromatography and can be administered to PUIs who are already on the fifth day of their 14 – day quarantine period.

The test kits will expedite the identification of possible COVID – 19 infections, and  only those who will turn out positive in the screening  will  have a swab sample for confirmatory test at the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Centre, Tubera explained.

Through the initiative of Mayor Benjamin Magalong, the city has a very good infection control and prevention strategy of “trace, test then treat”.  With the implementation of an enhanced contact tracing, it is easier to identify possible infections, then through testing that leads to early treatment, she added. (JDP/CCD-PIA CAR)