The number of suspected cases of the coronavirus disease 2019 (CoViD-19) in Negros Oriental has seen a slight drop in recent days, according to authorities here.
At a press conference Monday morning by the Inter-agency Task Force on Covid-19, Gov. Roel Degamo said he is happy to see the numbers dropping and hopes that this will continue in the coming days.
“The drop in the graph is a good indication that the people of Negros Oriental are very cooperative,” he said.
“Let us continue to do that. Just stay at home,” he added.
Degamo placed the province of Negros Oriental under a state of calamity and enhanced community quarantine starting April 3.
With the ECQ, everyone was told to stay home except for certain sectors, such as medical and health workers and food and utility service providers.
In the press conference, Assistant Provincial Health Officer Dr. Liland Estacion, said she believes the drop in numbers could be attributed to the closure of borders since the ECQ started.
As of Sunday afternoon, she said records showed that 6,267 asymptomatic people have “graduated” from home quarantine, while 5,591 others are still considered as persons under monitoring (PUMs) in their respective homes.
For those with mild Influenza-like Illnesess (ILI), the Province recorded 262 on Saturday but the numbers dropped to 244 the following day, with nine classified as Moderate Acute Severe Respiratory Infection (MARI) from the previous 10, and six Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) which remained in a plateau, Estacion said.
The ILI-Mild, MARI and SARI cases are considered as patients under investigation (PUIs), she said.
Estacion said she hopes the drop in the cases of suspected Covid-19 will continue in the coming days as she also reiterated the appeal of the governor for everyone to stay home, unless necessary for urgent or emergency reasons.
Two PUIs for CoViD-19 who are admitted in a Dumaguete hospital may soon be released if they will be found negative for coronavirus.
Estacion said Patients PH27 and PH28 are still isolated.
PH27 was first tested negative for the virus, but came out positive on the second test, she said. A third test yielded a negative result, prompting the health authorities to take a fourth throat swab sample for repeat testing, Estacion said.
If the result is negative, the patient would be discharged from the hospital, she said.
On the other hand, PH28, who turned out positive for Covid-19, is still waiting a second confirmatory swab test result, she added.
The Province’s first two confirmed CoViD-19 patients died in March.
Meanwhile, as of Monday afternoon, records at the Provincial Epidemiological Surveillance Unit-Provincial Health Office show that the Province has nine SARIs, three MARIs, 19 cases of ILI Mild with co-morbidities, and 194 cases of ILI Mild without co-morbidities.
Persons who are asymptomatic and are under monitoring and quarantine at their respective homes have dropped to 4,754.
Asymptomatic persons who were under monitoring but have completed their quarantine, on the other hand, rose to 7,453. They are classified as persons under monitoring.
In recent days, health authorities reported a slight downward trend in the graph of suspected Covid-19 cases, highly attributed to enhanced community quarantine which resulted in the closure of the borders of Negros Oriental. (Judy F. Partlow/PNA)