PUERTO PRINCESA CITY –– A patient under investigation (PUI) died in Palawan a day after the result conducted on her samples turned negative for coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
The PUI, a 63-year-old woman, who was isolated at the Culion Sanitarium and General Hospital (CSGH), died on Monday (March 23) but this was disclosed to the public only on Wednesday (March 25).
The deceased PUI was a resident of Manila, who went to Coron town with her family for a vacation.
She was left alone at the government hospital because her family was forced to leave due to the impending airport lockdown imposed by the Coron local government.
“We didn’t want to leave. Sino ba naman ang gustong iwan ‘yong pamilya ‘di ba? (Who would ever want to leave their family?) But we were not given a choice, we were forced to leave kahit ayaw namin (even if we didn’t want to),” clarified her family, who sought anonymity.
Dr. Neal Torre, alternate spokesperson of CSGH, said Wednesday that the patient was initially seen at Coron District Hospital after showing symptoms of respiratory infection. She was referred to CSGH, where she was isolated on March 17.
“The patient had a very rapid deterioration, which progressed to acute respiratory distress. She had other co-morbidities and her clinical picture showed she was a candidate for COVID-19 confirmatory test, and also because of her travel history since she’s a resident of Manila,” he said.
Her swabs were taken and sent to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine on March 17. However, her results were released only on Sunday, March 22.
The family decided that the body of the deceased relative be buried in Culion town due to the ongoing quarantine and travel ban, which prevented them from moving the remains. The hospital authorities had already buried the deceased PUI.
“There was an arrangement with the family about local burial. The family was aware and even expressed gratitude to the hospital [for taking care of their mother],” he added.
Palawan has 70 PUIs for COVID-19 as of 3 p.m., March 25.