Governor Arthur Yap on Sunday clarified that there are no confirmed active coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the province after a message claiming that a patient infected with the disease is admitted at a local hospital spread like wildfire on social media.
In the Department of Health’s COVID 19 Case Tracker, it is indicated that there is a COVID 19 patient admitted at a hospital in Tagbilaran City, but Yap clarified that it is not a current case.
Although it was true that a COVID 19 patient was admitted at the health facility, she has long been discharged and has already been well since returning home to China.
“Ang makita ninyo sa DOH COVID19 Case tracker, mao na kadtong Chinese National (PH-3) nga nibisita sa Bohol niadtong January pa. Kahinumdom pamo ato? Niuli na na sya sa China niadtong January 30,” Yap said.
Yap was referring to the woman from Wuhan who travelled to Bohol and was admitted at a hospital in Tagbilaran City from January 20 until January 29 and left for China on the next day.
The woman was discharged from the hospital after she tested negative for the disease based on results from the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in Marikina City, but on February 5, after the RITM retested one of her samples, she turned out to be positive.
Yap assured that thorough contact tracing was done by local health authorities and the DOH to determine if any of those she was in contact with while in Bohol were infected.
Some of those she was in contact with including hospital staff were quarantined for 14 days and were considered as patients under investigation after they showed flu-like symptoms, but they all turned out negative for the disease.
“Nahuman na ug contact tracing. Ang tanan nga kasakay, nakauban ug nagka close contact sa pasyente, namonitor nila, ug nagnegatibo pud sa COVID-19,” Yap said.
“14 days lang ang incubation period, mao bitaw nga kung gikan ka sa gawas sa Bohol kinahanglan ka mag Home Quarantine sulod sa 14 ka adlaw aron dili ka makatakod kung pananglit naa kay COVID19. Nilapas na ug buwan, hapit na mag duha ka buwan sukad niuli si PH-3 sa China, buot pasabot, walay natakdan,” he added.
On Monday, the Capitol’s anti-COVID task force spokesperson Dr. Yul Lopez said that there are 10 persons currently admitted in hospitals in Tagbilaran City for suspicion of COVID-19 infection.
Test results of swab samples which were taken from the patients and submitted to the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) in Cebu, a newly activated subnational laboratory to test suspected cases of the COVID-19, are still awaited.
Lopez said that the results could be released within the day.