Photo of the Bukidnon provincial capitol. Photo by Bukidnon Provincial Government
MALAYBALAY CITY——-The female government aide who earlier tested positive for SARS-CoV2, the virus that causes COVID-19, was found to be free of the infection in a confirmatory test conducted by the Department of Health (DOH).
This was announced in a regional press briefing on Friday, August 7, by Dr. Adriano Suba-an, DOH-10 director.
He said the initial result was “inconclusive” so they had to rerun the same swab sample.
Bukidnon provincial administrator Jay Albarece said a “positive” result was earlier relayed to them on Thursday, prompting the suspension of work at the Capitol.
With the confirmatory test result, he added that work at the Capitol will resume on Monday, August 10. The testing of all employees, he said, will still be scheduled.
Albarece said the 42-year-old staff was one of the 12 tested on Monday, Aug. 3, using personal kits of Gov. Jose Ma. Zubiri, Jr.
The swab samples were then sent to the Northern Mindanao Medical Center in Cagayan de Oro City to be scanned by its reverse transcription—polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) machines.
The employee was reported to be asymptomatic with no history of travel or exposure to a COVID-19 patient.
By Tuesday, Zubiri ordered testing of all 3,682 Capitol employees citing the rising infection rates in Bukidnon. Latest count recorded 93 cases.
The RT-PCR test remains the gold standard for COVID-19 testing as it detects the genetic material of the virus. The rapid test, which uses blood samples, only detects antibodies or fighter cells.
Albarece said the employee was swabbed for the second time on Friday while under isolation at the Northern Mindanao Wellness and Reintegration Center. The result also came out negative.
In a Facebook post, the employee’s husband thanked people for their “concern, love, and prayers” but decried the discrimination their whole family faced. “Dili lalim amo naagian nga stress,” (We went through extreme stress) he wrote.
To this, Albarece said, “We hope she and her family recover emotionally. Dili to sayon.” (It was not easy.)