By URIEL C. QUILINGUING, Contributing Editor.
THE health office of a town near Cagayan de Oro has listed over a hundred “persons under monitoring” (PUMs) and “persons under investigation” (PUIs) as it moved to conduct barangay-level surveillance and containment activities to contain the spread of novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
Jay Francis Bago, a councilor of Opol town in Misamis Oriental, said the town’s health office has listed 125 PUMs and two PUIs in 14 barangays as of Wednesday. All are quarantined in their respective homes, he said.
Barangays Barra, which is situated on the westernmost side of Cagayan de Oro, has the most number of PUMs with 38 while neighboring Igpit has 22 and the town’s Poblacion with 17, based on the Covid-19 infographic the Opol MPO posted online.
Other than the 125, 16 people who were earlier classified as PUMs have already completed the 14-day prescribed quarantine period.
“Population wise, Barra and Igpit have almost three times the population of other barangays while the Poblacion is a far third,” said Bago.
He said many residents of barangays Barra and Igpit are working in government offices and private firms in Cagayan de Oro and Misamis Oriental, including some whose family members in other parts of the country and even abroad.
The PUMs have travel histories from abroad and Metro Manila who came home after the Covid-19 outbreak, said the official.
Other barangays with multiple PUMs are Luyong Bonbon and Malanang with nine each, Taboc with seven, Cauyonan ang Patag with five apiece. Barangays Awang, Limonda, and Tingolan have one case each while Bagocboc and Nagcaon have none.
The health status of PUMs and PUIs are regularly monitored by their 14 barangay health emergency response teams, under the supervision of Dr. Emily Grace Banal, the town’s health officer, Bago said.
Based on the Department of Health classification, PUMs are those with travel history abroad or Metro Manila and may have been exposed to Covid-19 while PUIs are those who have travel history and have exhibited respiratory problems, fever, and diarrhea.
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