LUCENA CITY – The Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) in Quezon, in a public advisory released 5 p.m. Saturday, revealed that another person under investigation (PUI) for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) confined in an undisclosed hospital had been tested for the virus.
The five PUIs recorded last week have tested negative of the virus and have been discharged from hospitals.
The PUIs are those who recently traveled to mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau after the COVID-19 broke out and showed symptoms of cough, cold, or fever when they got back to the country.
The public advisory that was signed by Dr. Grace Santiago, Quezon health officer, and Dr. Anneavbit Talan-De Luna, provincial medical coordinator, also revealed that 14 additional persons under monitoring (PUMs) had been added to the list since Friday for a total of 43 possible COVID-19 carriers since the virus broke out last month.
However, the latest report showed that 12 of the old PUMs had completed the mandatory 14-days home quarantine period. They remained healthy and showed no respiratory symptoms, the IPHO said.
Of the remaining 31 PUMs, at least 30 were still placed under home quarantine and close observation. The other one opted to be placed under self-quarantine outside of the province.
PUMs are those who recently traveled to China, Macau, or Hong Kong “but showed no respiratory symptoms and were advised to go into home quarantine” immediately after their arrival.
The IPHO stressed that as of Saturday, Quezon remained “negative” for COVID-19 cases.
Authorities maintained that the rise of PUMs should not alarm the locals.
According to Talan-De Luna, the spike in the PUMs figures indicate the success of continuous monitoring and strengthened surveillance of health workers.
Talan-De Luna disclosed that barangay health workers were conducting continuous surveys and monitoring of locals who just arrived from abroad.
Some of the PUMs also voluntarily submitted themselves to local health authorities after their arrival.
Surveillance officers from the Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Units also regularly filed reports whenever they detect a potential PUM.