A 65-year-old man from the town of Guimbal in Iloilo province tested positive for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
The patient is now being kept in isolation for treatment at The Medical City (TMC) in Iloilo City.
Department of Health (DOH-6) Director Dr. Marlyn Convocar, in a press conference on Saturday, March 21, said the patient is “unstable.”
“May concomitant ni sya daan nga iban nga sakit that’s why unstable sya subong,” she told reporters.
The patient started manifesting symptoms, cough and fever, on March 6. He was brought the hospital on March 13.
Convocar said the patient had no travel history to areas in the Philippines with positive cases and to other countries affected by COVID-19.
The DOH-6 “presumed” that the patient “may have been exposed to his relatives who have traveled to Japan but were asymptomatic.”
The agency is closely coordinating with the local government of Guimbal and the health facility in their contact tracing efforts.
There are now two positive cases of COVID-19 in Western Visayas.
Yesterday, March 20, the DOH-6 confirmed the first positive case of disease in the region.
A 56-year-old patient in Bacolod City tested positive for the disease. He had a history of travel to the United Kingdom.
Unlike the patient in Iloilo, the first case, according to the DOH-6, is in “stable condition.”
“With these development, the DOH-6 strongly advises people who may have been in close contact with the two positive patients to cooperate with their LGUs and health officials,” the agency said.
“Disclosing accurate and vital information to the health authorities especially on history of travel to areas with positive cases and/or exposure to a positive case would help in the proper management and, at the same time, ensure the safety of health personnel and the community in the general,” it added.
The DOH-6 also advised the public “to be vigilant in protecting one’s self from the possible spread of the virus through frequent hand washing, observing respiratory etiquette, social distancing of at least one meter from another person, and infection prevention and control measures in the household.”IMT
