COVID-19 cases rise in Northern Mindanao

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases spiked in Northern Mindanao and infected heath workers, patients and their watchers in two regional hospitals.

In Valencia City, Bukidnon, 19 cases were recorded at the Medidas Medical Center – three health workers and 15 patients or their watchers.

Mayor Azucena Huervas has placed the hospital under localized lockdown until Oct. 12.

In a statement, the hospital management said that the spread of the virus in the facility began with a 64-year-old woman who was admitted on Sept. 20.

She was transferred to another hospital a week later where she died and was found to be a virus carrier.

The woman, tagged as “Case #84”, has likewise infected three other individuals outside the hospital.

It was not yet known if there is a link between the infections in the hospital and the infections reported at the Roy Plaza Valencia.

As of Oct. 10, 20 of the commercial establishment’s workers have tested positive for the virus.

As of Oct. 10, Valencia has 83 active cases, including six local government employees.

CDO situation

In Cagayan de Oro City, the region’s capital, 21 personnel of the Northern Mindanao Medical Center (NMMC) are under quarantine at a local government-run isolation facility after testing positive for COVID-19.

Northern Mindanao Medical Center (Facebook photo)

Dr. Bernard Julius Rocha, NMMC liaison officer, said the 21 employees are among the 38 hospital personnel who contracted the virus, including doctors, nurses, pharmacists, a dentist, nursing attendants, a radiology technician, and administrative support staff.

As of Oct. 9, 98 health workers throughout the region are undergoing quarantine after contracting the virus.

The infections at NMMC, northern Mindanao’s main COVID-19 referral facility, came at a time when the region, especially Cagayan de Oro City, is grappling with rising cases.

On Oct. 7, the region registered its highest single-day count tally of 104 cases, half from Cagayan de Oro City.

Regional COVID-19 tally

 As of Oct. 10, the region has 1,352 active cases, up 225 cases from the Sept. 30 tally, or an average daily increase of 23 cases.

Within the same period, Cagayan de Oro City’s active cases jumped by 87, from 354 to 441, or an average daily increase of nine cases, accounting for a third of the regional increase.

Of the total active cases in the region, 78 percent are due to local virus transmission.

Mayor Oscar Moreno has urged residents who need medical attention to avail of the tele-consultation platforms of the NMMC and the JR Borja General Hospital in order to avoid hospital visits and lessen their opportunity of exposure to the virus.

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