Naga mayor to DOH: Be transparent, share info immediately

GUINOBATAN, Albay—Naga City officials were caught by surprise when information of a positive case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the city was communicated to them by the Department of Health (DOH), Mayor Nelson Legacion said Monday.

The city recorded the Bicol region’s fifth case of COVID-19 only a day after it announced through its official social media account that all the persons under investigation do not have the disease.

“However, we are surprised by the communication we received from DOH that we have a positive case,” Legacion said. “This is because patients who had direct consultations and were confined in BMC were not reported to the city health office due to the hospital’s physician-patient privilege.”

“Because of this, we are asking DOH to be transparent and to share (information) immediately to our office, like we share information to them, for instant and proper solutions against COVID-19,” Legacion said.

“Because of our nation’s strict laws on confidentiality, we cannot give detailed information about the patient,” he said. “However, we assure (the public) that our city health office is doing all measures to inform everyone who she made contact with.”

Bicol’s fifth COVID-19 patient, a 30-year-old woman, came to the region on March 5, six days after her arrival from Dubai.