DUMAGUETE CITY—A community hospital at the border of the provinces of Negros Oriental and Occidental has been placed on lockdown after its chief nurse died and was found positive for SARS Cov2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo had ordered the temporary closure of Inapoy Community Primary Hospital (ICPH) in Mabinay town for the isolation of health workers, patients and their guardians.
At a press briefing on Friday (Aug. 29), Dr. Liland Estacion, Negros Oriental assistant health officer, said the nurse was male, 50-years-old and from Negros Occidental.
The nurse first arrived in ICPH last Aug. 20 with eight of his colleagues from the Negros Occidental Provincial Health Office and attended to patients for four days.
Last Aug. 24, he had a cough and complained of chronic back pain. The following day, he got checked and was referred to the district hospital in Cadiz, Negros Occidental.
His condition worsened last Aug. 25 as he was brought to the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital in Bacolod City where he eventually died in the evening.
Results of tests on respiratory samples taken from him showed that he was positive for coronavirus.
Estacion said at least 26 health workers, patients, and watchers, all from Negros Oriental, were put on quarantine and will be tested. Family members of the nurse’s patients are being closely monitored.
As of this writing, their test results have yet to be released.
Estacion also reported three new COVID-19 cases in Negros Orienta, all belonging to one family from Sibulan, the next town north of capital Dumaguete City.
All three cases, she said, involved Indian nationals repatriated from Manila. They are a 35-year-old male, his 30-year-old wife, and their two-year-old daughter.
Negros Oriental’s COVID-19 cases have dropped to six after 12 new recoveries were recorded in the province, Estacion said.
As of Aug. 28, Negros Oriental has a total of 126 coronavirus cases. The tally included 115 recoveries and four deaths.