52 contacts of dead Tagoloan ‘PUI’ under home quarantine

SOME 52 people in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, were told to go on home quarantine following the death of a woman, admitted to the state-run Northern Mindanao Medical Center (NMMC), on Thursday.

Gomer Sabio, the town’s mayor, said this as health authorities disclosed that the 56-year-old NMMC patient from Tagoloan was among the five who died in the regional public hospital this month, including a man from Lanao del Sur who tested positive for Covid-19.

She and a 72-year-old woman from Alubijid town, Misamis Oriental, were among the “persons under investigation” (PUI) who died in the NMMC this month.

Except for Patient 40 who died earlier, the four other patients died without seeing the results of the Covid-19 tests on them.

Among those now under isolation are nurses of a hospital in Tagoloan. But most of those undergoing home quarantine are family members and neighbors of the patient.

Sabio said the town government would provide them food and other assistance during the 14-day quarantine period.

Mayor Sabio said the woman was buried at Sta. Ana cemetery in Tagoloan. He said protocols set by the Department of Health (DOH) were followed.

She had been exposed to a relative “with pre-existing conditions,” who traveled from Manila.

The woman was first admitted to the St.Paul Hospital in Tagoloan on Sunday because of fever. When her health deteriorated, she was moved to the NMMC where she was treated while in isolation.

Sabio said the town’s health chief, Dr. Jennifer Advincula, told him that the patient no longer had a fever and so, they were surprised that she died.

He said Tagoloan officials were waiting for the result of the Covid-19 test on the woman.

Meanwhile, Sabio said he would step up quarantine rules in his town. Gathering of people outdoors, pedicabs and tricycles are no longer allowed.

He said only those who have to go to work or the market would be allowed to go out provided they secure clearances. (Shiela Mae Butlig)