MOST of the 150 persons known to have met and mingled with the Filipino-Australian from Pangasinan during a class reunion and a breakfast with classmates on February 22 and 23, have been traced and were confirmed not to have the symptoms of COVID-19.

This was confirmed by Dr. Ana de Guzman, provincial health officer, during the Talakayan sa Kapitolyo on last Tuesday, March 10.

Others who live in different parts of the country and abroad were also contacted and all confirmed they have no symptoms of the corona virus disease.

Dr. Valeriano Lopez, Department of Health regional director, had ordered the contact tracing after the woman turned positive of COVID-19 when she returned to Australia, on March 2.

Lopez said others voluntarily contacted him past the 14-day incubation period for the virus that lapsed on March 9 and confirmed the same.

Since nobody among those who attended the reunion as well as breakfast meeting were found symptomatic of the virus, Dr. De Guzman said the Filipino-Australian arrived in Pangasinan healthy and most likely contracted COVID-19 when she was in the National Capital Region where she stayed for another week before she flew back to Australia.

“Probably because of her busy activities in the Philippines while on vacation, the Fil-Ausssie was not aware her immunization had become low, making her vulnerable to the attack of the virus,” said De Guzman, noting that the husband who accompanied her in the trip was asymptomatic of the disease.

The couple arrived in Manila on February 12, attended a wedding of a relative and a wake. On February 22 she was in Pangasinan for the class reunion in Dagupan and stayed the night in Lingayen.

The next day, she joined her former classmates at a resort in Lingayen for breakfast and the couple traveled to Manila the same day.

De Guzman pointed out that since not one of her classmates was symptomatic of COVID-19, it was apparent she did not have the virus when she came to Pangasinan for the reunion and contracted it in NCR where confirmed cases of COVID-19 were located.

So on March 9, Lopez personally assured the Sangguniang Panlalawigan that Pangasinan remains COVID-19-free.

The contact tracing was done jointly by the Provincial Health Office, two teams from the regional disease surveillance unit of the DOH and the Pangasinan Police Office whose assistance was requested by Gov. Amado Espino III.

Meanwhile, Dr. Rosario Pamintuan, chief of the DOH regional disease surveillance unit, said as of March 10, no Pangasinense is known to be infected.

P/Colonel Redrico Maranan, police provincial director, said the Municipal Health Offices assisted in the contact-tracing while the Commission on Elections that provided the addresses of the persons who attended the two events. (Leonardo Micua)

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