News and UpdatesIn the NewsCebu PUMs sneak into NegOr hospitals

Cebu PUMs sneak into NegOr hospitals

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but Coast Guard denies it

Patients with Influenza-like illnesses have crossed over from Badian, Cebu to Negros Oriental, further adding to the burden of the already-crowded Negros Oriental hospitals.

Dr. Liland Bustamante-Estacion, assistant provincial health officer and incident commander of the COVID 19 Task Force for Negros Oriental told the members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan Friday that she learned this while checking on the sudden increase in the number of PUMs and PUIs at our local hospitals.

“For the asymptomatic PUMs and PUIs, we have 6,499 as of Friday. This increased by 100. I was surprised why there would be an increase. I was told by two Municipal Health Officers that that every night, there are new arrivals from Badian,” she said.

Estacion said this is a problem because instead of the numbers going down, we are increasing because of this situation. “I have asked the Coast Guard to monitor the coastlines but they say there are only few of them,” she added.

Suggestions were made to tap the Bantay dagat patrols of the municipalities, while Adrian Sedillo, head of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, said they will verify the report because we don’t have first hand knowledge.

Vice Governor Mark Macias said Negros Oriental should watch its coastline. “We can allot part of the Quick Response Fund to watch over the coast. The people will continue to be anxious if the PUIs will continue to be smuggled into Negros Oriental from Cebu,” he said.

Vice Governor Mark Macias also said that some cargo trucks have been found to smuggle people on board their trucks bound for Negros Oriental, forcing the boat company to closely inspect every cargo truck that is loaded on their barges.

Only two people are allowed on board cargo trucks–the driver and the assistant. But in a meeting of the COVID 19 Task force last Thursday, PNP Provincial Director Col. Julian Entoma said some people who are smuggled in claim to be relatives of the driver.

Because of this, the police will soon recommend for penalties for drivers who try to smuggle people on board their trucks.

Meanwhile, Dr. Estacion has allayed fears that the person who died in Santander last week while under quarantine had CoVid symptoms.

“The woman who died was from Hinobaan and I was told by the Provincial Health Officer of Cebu that she died of ischemia,” Estacion said.

The other persons who wanted to cross to Negros have been quarantined in Santander. “The officials of Santander want them to be under the supervision of the Department of Health because they are unruly,” she said.

Soon after this news story appeared in a national newspaper, the Coast Guard Commander of Negros Oriental, Lt. JG Donna Liza Ramacho, denied the reported crossing of patients from Badian.

In a press conference Saturday, Ramacho said the reported crossing of a pumpboat carrying 100 passengers from Badian in Cebu to Tayasan in Negros Oriental has been denied by the Tayasan Coast Guard. She presented a report, saying that there was a pumpboat that landed in Tayasan carrying not 100 passengers but seven fishermen. She also showed photos of the pumpboat as proof.

It was not known, however, why the Coast Guard specified such boat docking particularly in Tayasan — which was not reported in the news story that appeared in the national daily.

Dr. Estacion, who was also present in the press conference called Saturday morning, was mum about her being the source of information on the statements she made on Friday during the session of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.

Lt. Ramacho also denied the statement of Vice Governor Macias that some cargo trucks were being smuggled into Negros Oriental. She said the Coast Guard conducts pre- and post-boarding inspections of cargo trucks coming to Negros Oriental, and that there is no human smuggling taking place.

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