The chief of hospital of the Gov. Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital (GCGMH) Dr. Mutya Kismet Macuno denies that there is a conflict between her statement and that of the Department of Health (DoH) regional director Jaime Bernadas’ in terms of opinion about where the doctor and two medical technologists contracted the virus.
Macuno maintains that the virus was contracted by the GCGMH staff in Cebu, while Bernadas said it is “highly probable” the virus was contracted in Bohol.
Macuno made the clarification in a radio interview over dyTR’s Open Forum program on Tuesday.
“Kamo (referring to the media) no, kamo gyud mogama ug gubot. Number one, wa mi (referring to her and Bernadas) magsumpaki, erase na delete, delete, delete. Wala mi magsumpaki, kahapon (Monday) sa buntag ako na siyang gipahibaw na sir, I would have a lot of interviews today (Monday) and sir this is my position ani because this is my personal opinion na based on science na as early as two days, we can contract na the virus. Niingon sya no problem Mut,” Dr. Macuno said in the interview.
In the same interview, Macuno said “if you please take note ilabi na sa media na mo-atake ninyo, moinvite ko ninyo, during the interview of director Bernadas giputol ang iyang statement. Niingon sya highly probable na nakuha sa Bohol but there is a qualifying statement sa tumoy na wala na giapil, tua didto ang qualifying statement mao na wala mi lalis ni director, pinangga nako sya (Bernadas), pinangga pod ko niya, We are working together, ayaw mi gubta aning inyong terms na sumpaki, kay wa mi magsumpaki. Kahibaw sya sa tanan nakong opinion ug kahibaw kos iyang opinion and ge respect nako sya.”
Bernadas was interviewed over the radio last Saturday saying that it is highly probable that the GCGMH personnel contracted the virus in Bohol and not in Cebu.
Moreover, Macuno said that Bohol has no documented Covid case apart from the overseas Filipino worker that tested positive, and Cebu is a known hot spot, thus there is a huge probability the hospital personnel contracted the virus in Cebu.
Also, Macuno said the personnel are well and asymptomatic. They are under a 14-day quarantine and will be treated anew after the quarantine period, and with a negative result, they will be allowed to return to Bohol and continue to work on the molecular laboratory.
The personnel from the hospital were sent to Cebu for training on the operation of Bohol’a own testing laboratory for swab samples using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) kits.
The planned lab will have a capacity to test from 900 to 1,000 samples a day running for 24 hours, Macuno said.
She added that the target date for the operation of the lab will be around second or third week of June.
She said she is expecting the delivery of critical pieces of equipment in the lab, but the delivery has been delayed.
At the same time, there are still some works needed to be completed in the laboratory area.
Meantime, Macuno said the personnel were not tested for Covid prior to their departure to Cebu because they were asymptomatic and coming from a place not considered as a Covid hotspot.
The hospital official said that the test is part of the preparation of the personnel’s return to Bohol. Since they picked up the virus, for that reason they have been placed under quarantine.
She continued that even if the personnel did not pick up the virus, the personnel will still undergo quarantine and will take PCR tests to observe the protocol.
It was learned from a reliable source that the results of the PCR test of one half (1/2) of the first generation of contacts of the two (2) medical technologists have from Gallares Hospital arrived early yesterday, Saturday and all are negative. The same source added that the results of the other ½ of the first generation were expected to arrive yesterday afternoon. As of press time, no release of these results were given to our media outlet.