A local health official said on Tuesday said that the 31-year-old Chinese woman who has been confined in an isolation room in Tagbilaran City after being considered as a person under investigation (PUI) for suspected novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infection is getting better with her symptoms starting to subside.
The woman who travelled from Hong Kong to Bohol via Cebu was quarantined starting Friday last week after exhibiting flu-like symptoms but was no longer having a fever two days later on Sunday.
“As early as Sunday, naayo na siya. Wa na siya’y hilanat, she is up and about,” said Dr. Cesar Tomas Lopez, spokesperson of the Capitol’s anti-nCoV technical working group (TWG).
However, Lopez assured that she will not be allowed to leave from isolation pending the release of test results of the patient’s swab sample which was flown to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in Muntinlupa City to determine if she is infected with a coronavirus strain.
“Strictly, ingon g’yud mi na ‘sorry you cannot go out, you are still on strict isolation. We will wait for the RITM result, if it is negative you can go home.’ Pugngan g’yud siya nato,” Lopez said.
The patient’s swab sample was sent to the RITM on Saturday.
It takes about two to four days for results to be released, but it could take longer given the rising number of PUIs in the country who were also tested.
Meanwhile, nurses and doctors who are looking after the patient are equipped with World Health Organization-prescribed personal protective equipment to protect themselves from infection, Lopez said.
It was confirmed that the woman who was not identified by authorities arrived in Bohol from Cebu through the Tagbilaran City Tourist Port.
“Hong Kong, Cebu then then hing laag sa Bohol,” Lopez said.
According to Lopez, the patient first sought medical attention at a hospital in the city for hemorrhoids, locally known as “almoranas,” on Thursday last week but ended up quarantined on Friday after she showed flu-like symptoms.
He did not dismiss the possibility that the woman experienced fever due to the hemorrhoids, which cause swollen anal veins, but they are taking necessary precautions nonetheless as mandated by the national government.
The Department of Health (DOH) had earlier ordered health personnel to quarantine persons showing symptoms of the nCoV who have recently travelled to China and its special administrative regions, Hong Kong and Macau.
Meanwhile, local health authorities have started to print out health declaration forms which would be distributed to passengers of vessels bound for Bohol.
The small questionnaire will direct passengers to declare if they have been to China or any other country which has cases of nCoV and to declare if they are experiencing fever and other flu-like symptoms.
DOH 7 director Dr. Jaime Bernadas on Monday announced that there are 15 PUIs in the region—11 in Cebu, three in Negros Oriental and one in Bohol.
Unverified reports surfaced on Tuesday indicating that there are already two PUIs in Bohol but this was denied by Lopez.