CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Two patients who were referred to state-run Northern Mindanao Medical Center (NMMC) here died on Wednesday, March 18.
According to Dr. Jose Chan, NMMC medical director, the women patients succumbed to severe acute respiratory illness less than 24 hours after they were brought to the hospital.
Chan said only one of the two were taken swab sample for testing for novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) infection as the other patient already died when hospital staff were taking specimen.
He said the patients were listed as persons under investigation (PUIs) by health officials.
As of Thursday, March 18, 12 PUIs are confined at the NMMC.
Due to the death of the two women, Cagayan de Oro Mayor Oscar S. Moreno has placed the city under community quarantine as he asked also the provinces of Misamis Oriental and Bukidnon to harmonize their efforts to prevent the spread of the virus.
“We are taking the conservative view since we are concerned,” he said.