ZAMBOANGA CITY –– A child given birth last month by a 30-year-old woman, who contracted the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), was spared of the infection, recent test results showed.
The child was separated from the mother while she was still recuperating at the Zamboanga City Medical Center.
Several days ago, the woman tagged as Patient 2794 by the Department of Health (DOH) has recovered and was allowed to go home, reuniting with her child, now almost a month old.
City health officer Dr. Dulce Miravite said Patient 2794 had exposure on March 12 with a high-risk individual who traveled from Manila. She was 35 weeks pregnant at the time.
A week after, she had a cough and fever. When her condition worsened by March 23, she sought medical help, concerned about possible complications because of her diabetes.
On March 26, a swab sample was taken from the woman who gave birth through the Caesarian section the following day.
Miravite said the baby was brought to the care of the woman’s family in Barangay Tetuan.
The baby was healthy and asymptomatic, Miravite recalled.
The woman was found positive for COVID-19 on April 1, and over two weeks later, her baby’s swab sample tested negative for the infection.
A United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) briefer on COVID-19 said it is not yet known if the virus can be transmitted from a mother to her baby during pregnancy.
Unicef cited the views of Franka Cadée, president of the International Confederation of Midwives, who said that the virus has not been found in vaginal fluid, cord blood, breastmilk, amniotic fluid, or placenta.
Cadée goes on to say that “it is perfectly safe to continue breastfeeding,” as research has shown that “the COVID-19 virus is not transmitted through breastmilk.”
“So, the mother can breastfeed—-it’s the best thing she can do for her baby,” Cadée emphasized, reminding the public to wear a mask, wash hands, and disinfect surfaces.
Lockdowns lifted
Apart from Patient 2794, a 47-year-old Islamic missionary or tabligh who traveled to Malaysia last February has also recovered from the disease.
Miravite said the tabligh, originally from Barangay Talon-talon, arrived in the city on March 5. He showed symptoms on March 10 and temporarily resided at Barangay San Jose Gusu.
With these recoveries, Mayor Maria Isabelle Salazar has ordered the lifting of lockdowns in San Jose Gusu and Tetuan villages.
Earlier, the lockdown in Sinunuc village was also lifted with the recovery of a COVID-19 patient from there last April 12.
The city has eight COVID-19 patient. Two of these are in Manila, three had recovered, one died, and two still admitted in a hospital.