By Joseph B.A. Marzan
Just a day after it breached the 500-case mark for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the region is set to reach 600 confirmed cases as 41 new cases were reported by the Department of Health-Western Visayas Center for Health Development (DOH-WV CHD) on July 13, 2020.
The latest batch includes 10 residents of Capiz, 14 from Iloilo, 12 from Negros Occidental, 4 from Iloilo City and 1 from Bacolod City.
More than half of the latest batch are Locally Stranded Individuals (LSI), with 25 new cases:
– 31-year-old male from Cauayan, Negros Occidental (WV Patient No. 553);
– 19-year-old female from Murcia, Negros Occidental (WV Patient No. 554);
– 62-year-old female from Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental (WV Patient No, 562);
– 48-year-old male from Murcia, Negros Occidental (WV Patient No. 563);
– 26-year-old female from Calatrava, Negros Occidental (WV Patient No, 564);
– 21-year-old male from Manapla, Negros Occidental (WV Patient No. 565);
– 30-year-old male from Sipalay City, Negros Occidental (WV Patient No. 566);
– 24-year-old female from Lambunao, Iloilo (WV Patient No. 567);
– 21-year-old female from Lambunao, Iloilo (WV Patient No. 568);
– 22-year-old male from Lambunao, Iloilo (WV Patient No. 569);
– 23-year-old male from Lambunao, Iloilo (WV Patient No. 570);
– 24-year-old female from Lambunao, Iloilo (WV Patient No. 571);
– 21-year-old male from Lambunao, Iloilo (WV Patient No. 572);
– 22-year-old male from Lambunao, Iloilo (WV Patient No. 573);
– 25-year-old female from Lambunao, Iloilo (WV Patient No. 574);
– 35-year-old female from Lambunao, Iloilo (WV Patient No. 575);
– 69-year-old male from Dumalag, Capiz (WV Patient No. 576);
– 27-year-old male from Dumalag, Capiz (WV Patient No. 577);
– 27-year-old female from Jamindan, Capiz (WV Patient No. 579);
– 30-year-old female from Jamindan, Capiz (WV Patient No. 580);
– 25-year-old male from Pontevedra, Capiz (WV Patient No. 581);
– 24-year-old male from Pontevedra, Capiz (WV Patient No. 582);
– 34-year-old female from President Roxas, Capiz (WV Patient No. 584);
– 49-year-old female from Guimbal, Iloilo (WV Patient No. 586); and
– 42-year-old female from Lambunao, Iloilo (WV Patient No. 588).
Two of the LSIs (WV Patient Nos. 576 and 580) are under home-based quarantine.
Also, 12 new indigenous or local COVID-19 cases were reported:
– 38-year-old male from Talisay City, Negros Occidental (WV Patient No. 556);
– 52-year-old male from Talisay City, Negros Occidental (WV Patient No. 557);
– 36-year-old male from Talisay City, Negros Occidental (WV Patient No. 558);
– 30-year-old female from Talisay City, Negros Occidental (WV Patient No. 559);
– 44-year-old male from Jaro, Iloilo City (WV Patient No. 560);
– 30-year-old female from Bacolod City (WV Patient No. 561);
– 56-year-old female from Batad, Iloilo (WV Patient No. 585);
– 50-year-old female from Alimodian, Iloilo (WV Patient No. 587);
– 52-year-old female from Oton, Iloilo (WV Patient No. 590);
– 40-year-old female from Mandurriao, Iloilo City (WV Patient No. 591);
– three-year-old male from Mandurriao, Iloilo City (WV Patient No. 592); and
– 37-year-old female from La Paz, Iloilo City (WV Patient No. 593).
Three of the patients (WV Patient Nos. 560, 585, and 590) are currently admitted to hospitals, while the rest are under facility-based quarantine.
The remaining four cases are Overseas Filipino Workers:
– 25-year-old female from Silay City, Negros Occidental (WV Patient No. 555);
– 35-year-old male from Jamindan, Capiz (WV Patient No. 578);
– 27-year-old female from Pilar, Capiz (WV Patient No. 583); and
– 47-year-old female from Roxas City, Capiz (WV Patient No. 589).
All four are under facility-based quarantine.
A total of 383 test results via Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) were released, with 342 showing negative results.
JULY 12 DELAY
Maria Jocelyn Te, DOH-WV CHD Medical Coordinator for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases, explained the almost-six-hour delay in the reporting of new COVID-19 cases on July 12.
The report, which was released to the media at 9:40 pm Sunday, revealed a record-breaking spike in COVID-19 cases in the region with 91 new cases.
Te outlined three reasons for the delayed release: the high volume of specimen received, revalidation of positive LSI and OFW cases, and limited time due to other non-COVID tests.
“There was a delay in the releasing of the results because there was a high volume of specimen received and there was a mismatching of PCR machines with the consumables. For example, the kit may not have been compatible with its consumable. There was a large number of positive cases of our LSI and OFW repats (repatriates), so they had to conduct revalidation. They also have limited time allotted because they shared a room with the [tuberculosis culture testing],” Te said.
Te said they have taken action to avoid these issues in the future, in coordination with the accredited testing laboratories in Iloilo and Negros Occidental.
“The action we’re taking now is to prioritize the [COVID-19] specimen, especially if they have symptoms. We will also request for compatible consumables with our available machines. We will also be requesting for procurement of compatible kits so they can be usable for our machines. Then, we will convert a room for COVID-19 [testing],” she said.
