Zamboanga doc, who died as COVID-19 suspect, tests negative of infection

ZAMBOANGA CITY –– A government doctor, who died on April 6 while on isolation in a hospital, has tested negative of coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

City health officer Dulce Miravite said Dr. Ezrah Dino Hailil, 40, succumbed to multi-organ failure, sepsis, and high-risk pneumonia while he was treated at the Zamboanga Peninsula Medical Center.

Hailil was one of the 23 COVID-19 suspects to have died in the city.

A swab sample was taken from him on April 3. He died three days later without the test result known.

Mayor Maria Isabelle Salazar paid tribute to Hailil, a pediatrician at the Labuan District Hospital where “he served residents with a big heart to ordinary people.”

“The city government expresses our big gratitude to the doctor who has given a dedicated life, loving to Christians, Muslims, and lumad,” Salazar said.

Ronald Maravilla, village chief of Labuan, said their community is grieving for their loss, describing Hailil as a doctor for the people.

“He served everyone regardless of faith and economic status in the community. He was loved by the poor people here,” Maravilla noted.

Dr. Jejunee Rivera, a colleague of Hailil, was saddened over the death.

“He was a kind and happy person. He is now back in Allah’s arms, happier,” Rivera said.

Hailil traveled from Manila on March 15 after which he underwent 14-day home isolation, returning to work on March 28.

On April 3, he complained of breathing difficulty and was admitted to a hospital.

Salazar said Hailil’s life served as an inspiration for others, touching the heart of many people.

“We ask for prayers for his eternal peace, his colleagues in the medical profession, in the government, and his family. We honor his memory as an exemplar of his mission to heal. His life was not in vain.”

Hailil’s hospital is an alternate facility for serving the regular clients of the government-run Zamboanga City Medical Center, as some spaces there were dedicated to catering to confirmed and suspected COVID-19 cases.