Buenavista mayor Dave Duallo denies reports that the mother (who is a barangay kagawad) of the Covid-positive two (2)-year-old boy who died, had an exposure to a locally stranded individuals (LSI).
The mayor denied the report in a radio interview on Open Forum, on Wednesday, August 19, 2020.
He said that LSIs are properly quarantined in the designated quarantine facility and if ever there are some reports saying that the mother was exposed to an LSI, these reports are baseless..
The Buenavista mayor added that only the fully-trained barangay health workers (BHW) are allowed to enter the quarantine facilities where the LSIs are staying.
He bared that the BHWs are also wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) when they need to access the quarantine facility.
The denial comes as there are reports saying that the mother of the child, who is a barangay kagawad of barangay Putingbato, had an exposure to LSIs, and allegedly may have contracted the Covid virus that caused the transmission of the virus to the child.
Duallo said it is practically impossible for the mother to have been exposed to any LSI quarantined in the local quarantine facility as the said barangay official could only stay at the outpost located outside the facility.
Moreover, Duallo assures everyone that the town is imposing a strict implementation of the quarantine facility protocols.
Reports also say that the two (2)-year-old child from sitio Nangka, barangay Putingbato, was brought to the Francisco Dagohoy Memorial Hospital (FDMH) in Inabanga, as an emergency case.
After getting emergency care from FDMH, the child was transferred to the Gov. Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital (GCGMH) in Tagbilaran, according to FDMH chief of hospital Dr. Allan Torrefranca, in a radio interview over Open Forum program on Wednesday, August 19, 2020.
As the child had a fever and breathing difficulty, per protocol, the child underwent a swab test at the GCGMH. The result of the child’s polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test turned out to be positive. The result was made public by Gov. Arthur Yap on Tuesday evening, August 18, 2020.
Unfortunately, on Wednesday, the child expired at the GCGMH, and this was confirmed by Duallo and by Bohol Inter Agency Task Force (B-IATF) spokesman Dr. Cesar Tomas Lopez.
Moreover, Lopez confirmed that prior to admission in the GCGMH, the child was suffering from severe malnutrition and had an existing medical condition.
Meanwhile, the child from Buenavista was the youngest Covid-related fatality in Bohol as the other fatalities were adults, majority of which are elderly, based on the information from the Capitol. The death also raised the Covid-related death toll in Bohol to 7.