Is it possible that the third Covid positive case in Sagbayan had an exposure with a person that may be infected with the coronavirus disease (Covid)?
It was learned over dyTR’s Open Forum that the Municipal Health Officer (MHO) of Sagbayan reportedly got a feedback that the lady Covid-positive patient had a companion who could be called a “close contact” who is allegedly a locally stranded individual (LSI)? It is further alleged that the Covid positive from Sagbayan was accompanied , which accompanied the patient in either Carmen or Bilar.
Acting on the feedback, MHO Dewy Demandante asked the lady patient regarding the information that she had a companion, but the patient denied the information, according to the Sagbayan town spokesperson, Selito Pon.
Moreover, Pon said that the lady patient is generally cooperative in providing information regarding her close contacts in Sagbayan.
Pon said that there is a huge possibility that the Covid positive patient may have picked up the virus outside the town of Sagbayan.
Pon revealed the information in an interview on Friday, July 24, 2020 over “Open Forum” hosted by Ardy Araneta-Batoy and Greg Austral.
In the same interview, Pon said that as a social worker, the lady Covid positive patient may have interacted with her fellow social workers, too.
However, Pon said that there is no solid piece of evidence to pinpoint where and when the Covid-positive patient got infected.
Pon mentioned in the same interview that Sagbayan’s Pantawid Pamilya program focal person had a close contact with the lady Covid-positive patient.
He also revealed that the contact tracing activity in Bilar already identified the direct contacts of the Covid-positive patient.
Currently, the third positive Covid case has mild symptoms and currently in the town’s isolation facility and is being taken care of by trained nurses supervised by the MHO.
Local authorities of Sagbayan are “hopeful” the new Covid positive patient will recover soon as the symptoms are subsiding, Pon said.
Pon also said that authorities only know the patient works as a staff of the Department of Social Work and Development (DSWD) for the Pantawid Pamilya prpgram in the town of Bilar. He added that the Covid positive patient returns home to Sagbayan during weekends.
Furthermore, Pon said that since the latest Covid positive patient had no travel history and neither is an LSI nor an overseas Filipino worker (OFW), the MHO considers the latest case as a “local transmission” of the virus.
Apart from the current case, Sagbayan had two (2) other positive cases of Covid, both of whom have already recovered from the disease.
ONE IN SEVEN CASES OF LOCAL TRANSMISSION
The Sagbayan case is just one (1) of seven (7) latest positive Covid cases which are tagged as local transmission.
The other known local transmission cases are from Ubay, Alicia, Calape, Danao, Catigbian, and Tagbilaran City.
The Covid positive cases from the said locations are patients who are not LSIs, OFWs, or authorized persons outside residence (APOR) nor considered as “imported” cases from Covid infection hotspots such as Manila or Cebu City.
With the rising number of “local transmission” which is also called “community transmission”, Gov. Arthur Yap ordered Bohol mayors and the local police force to strictly enforce the minimum health standards and protocol.
In some interviews and reports, the governor even floated the idea of Bohol reverting to enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) to control the infection.
Currently, Bohol is under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ), which is a relaxed community quarantine standard compared to ECQ.