Isko Moreno may return to public life on Aug. 29, Manila’s health chief says

Mayor Francisco ‘Isko Moreno’ Domagoso during his confinement for coronavirus infection. Photo coutesy Manila PIO.

MANILA, Philippines — Despite being discharged early Wednesday after being sick with COVID-19, the earliest that Manila Mayor Isko Moreno can only go out publicly would be on Sunday, August 29, the city’s health officer said.

According to Manila City Health Officer Dr. Arnold Pangan, Moreno would still have to go through isolation to ensure that he is fully recovered from the disease.

“Nakalabas na finally sa ospital si Yorme, maraming salamat po sa inyong mga dasal […] Subalit after po nito, kailangan pa pong mag-isolate ni Yorme, average of three days,” Pangan said during the Manila Public Information Office (MPIO) Facebook live stream on Wednesday evening.

(The Mayor has already been discharged; thank you very much for your prayers.  But after this, the Mayor still needs to isolate, an average of three days.)

“So hihintayin po natin, nandyan po si Yorme ngayon, naka-isolate po siya, at hopefully po by August 29 or August 30 ay makikita niyo na po in public ang ating Yorme, kaya po eh pagtiyagaan niyo po muna kami,” he added.

(So we will wait for that, the Mayor has been discharged and is in isolation, and hopefully, by August 29 or August 30, we can already see him in public.  So for now, please bear with us.)

LOOK: Isko Moreno discharged from hospital after ‘surviving’ COVID-19 

Pangan clarified that despite the three-day isolation, Moreno is already doing well. Based on regulations from the World Health Organization, COVID-19 patients who would no longer be sick 10 days after the symptoms showed up are considered recovered.

“Ano po ba ang naging basehan o criteria?  Ayon po sa Department of Health, ito pong criteria, simula po meron na po kasing sampung araw, ayon sa World Health Organization at Center for Disease Control, ay maaari nang ma-deklarang recovered ang pasyente kung meron nang 10 araw simula nang paglabas ng sintomas,” he said.

(What was the basis or criteria?  According to the Department of Health, if there are ten days already since the symptoms first appeared, the World Health Organization and the Center for Disease Control said, the patient can already be declared recovered.)

“So ngayon po no’ng nagkaroon ng sintomas si Yorme, up to this day, panglabing isang araw na po niya ngayon.  So isa po ‘yon, at syempre, dapat po wala nang lagnat ng tatlong araw at wala nang sintomas, at nag-improve ang kondisyon,  So lahat po nitong criteria na ito pasok po si Yorme, kaya po ang pamunuan ng Santa Ana Hospital […] ay pinayagan na po, o na-discharge na po,” he added.

(So from the first day that the Mayor got symptoms, up to this day, it has been eleven days, So that’s one thing, and of course, he should have no fever and no symptoms for three days, while his condition is improving.  So the Mayor fits in all of these criteria; that’s why the Santa Ana Hospital decided to have him discharged.)

Moreno announced last August 15 that he got infected with COVID-19, wherein it was revealed that he felt mild symptoms, including losing the sense of smell and taste.  He then got admitted at the Sta. Ana Hospital.

READ: Isko Moreno ‘reports loss of smell and taste’ 

READ: Isko Moreno experiencing mild COVID-19 symptoms 

Moreno is one of the infected patients during the latest surge, attributed by health experts to the more infectious COVID-19 Delta variant.

Numbers on Wednesday showed that new COVID-19 infections remained over 10,000, with the Department of Health recording 15,573 new cases, pushing the active case count to 125,378.

READ: PH’s active COVID-19 cases at 127,703 with 12,067 new cases