KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews / 11 April) — Three patients diagnosed with the highly contagious novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Region 12 (Soccsksargen), including the first positive case involving a Muslim religious leader who attended a huge tabligh gathering in Selangor, Malaysia, have recovered, an official said Saturday.
Arjohn Gangoso, Deparment of Health-12 health education and promotion officer, said the three patients have tested negative of COVID-19.
“They are no longer considered carriers of the virus based on their second laboratory tests,” he said in a phone interview.
Gangoso said the first to recover was the first confirmed COVID-19 patient in the region, PH145, a 32-year-old male from Cotabato City who, along with some 200 other tablighs (Islamic preachers), attended a gathering in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in late February. He was confirmed positive for COVID-19 on March 17.
The second COVID-19 patient who recovered, PH 599, is a 68-year-old female also from Cotabato City with a travel history to Manila. She was confirmed positive for COVID-19 on March 25, DOH-12 data showed.
The third to recover is PH 3272, a 45-year-old male from North Cotabato province with travel history to Davao City. He was confirmed positive for coronavirus on April 6, it added.
Gangoso said Region 12 has been sending the swab samples of persons under investigation (PUIs) to the Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao City.
The Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM), which is based in Muntinlupa City, has delegated the SPMC as a sub-national testing facility for COVID-19 in Mindanao in late March.
As of 5 p.m. Friday, April 10, the region recorded a total of 16 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with only one death, DOH-12 data showed.
For PUIs, at least 55 have been discharged, 34 still admitted in hospitals, 99 under home quarantine, 63 have completed their home quarantine and 15 have died, it added.
The number of persons under monitoring (PUMs) and still undergoing home quarantine stood at 265 across the region.
Soccsksargen was placed in an extended lockdown until April 30 following a joint meeting last week by the Regional Inter-Agency Task Group and the Regional Inter-Agency Task Force on COVID-19.
The region, which is home to at least 4.5 million people, straddles the provinces of South Cotabato, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani.
Based on the latest DOH-12 data, only Sarangani has no confirmed case of COVID-19. It has 18 PUIs (one admitted, five discharged and 12 under home quarantine). The province has 68 PUMs under home quarantine.
As of 5 p.m. Friday, April 10, the region recorded a total of 16 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with one death, DOH-12 data showed.
For PUIs, at least 55 have been discharged, 34 still admitted in hospitals, 99 under home quarantine, 63 have completed their home quarantine and 15 have died, it added.
The number of persons under monitoring (PUMs) and still undergoing home quarantine stood at 265 across the region.
Soccsksargen was placed in an extended lockdown until April 30 following a joint meeting last week by the Regional Inter-Agency Task Group and the Regional Inter-Agency Task Force on COVID-19.
The region, which is home to at least 4.5 million people, straddles the provinces of South Cotabato, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani.
Based on the latest DOH-12 data, only Sarangani has no confirmed case of COVID-19. It has 18 PUIs (one admitted, five discharged and 12 under home quarantine). The province has 68 PUMs under home quarantine. (Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)
