FOR ISOLATION, TESTS, CONTACT TRACING

PANGASINAN is fully prepared to meet challenges posed by the nCov threat.

This was reiterated by Provincial Health Officer Dr. Anna Ma. de Guzman citing the preparedness of the Western Pangasinan District Hospital, the Pangasinan Provincial Hospital, the Urdaneta District Hospital and the Eastern Pangasinan District Hospital.
The community hospitals, she added, also have their isolation rooms for patients with nCov symptoms.

However, she said all the provincial and district hospitals have been ordered to endorse all their patients suspected of having nCov virus to the Region I Medical Center in Dagupan, which was designated by DOH as the end referral hospitals for all nCov patients.

She said task forces are in place in all coastal areas in the province to handle emergency situations if any case persons with nCov symptoms surface in their areas, particularly fishermen having in contact with their Chinese counterparts offshore.

De Guzman, together with Dr. Aurora Cuison, OIC city health officer of Dagupan, and Dr. Roland Mejia, chief of the Region 1 Medical Center in Dagupan, earlier confirmed that there is no nCov case in Pangasinan.

The three persons under investigation (PUIs) in Region 1 mentioned earlier in a data released by the Department of Health revealed are Chinese nationals from Shanghai, China.

The initial report stated that the three were initially in Agoo where they were diagnosed as having signs of nCov and were immediately isolated and transported to San Fernando City, La Union last January 26.

DE GUZMAN

After five days of isolation, the three PUIs have shown remarkable improvement in their medical condition. However, their blood samples and specimens were sent to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) for more comprehensive examination.

Meanwhile, De Guzman belittled nCov’s threat because among three viruses that threatened the world in the last two decades, nCov is the least virulent. The most virulent, she added, was the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Corona virus that spread in 2015, followed by the SARS from 2002 to 2003.
According to her, nCov or any other virus is self-limiting and the patient, whether treated or not, can recover in three or four days provided the patient is not immune compromised.
De Guzman also called on healthy people not to wear face masks and should be worn only by immune compromised persons, adding that those with coughs must observe proper cough etiquette by coughing in their shirt sleeves if they have no handkerchiefs.

She also said liquid soap for hand washing is preferred to bar soap. (Leonardo Micua)

2 cruise ships turned away; Aussie medical mission cancelled

LINGAYEN—The Provincial Health Office has directed that passengers of international cruise ships be prevented from disembarking in Infanta and Alaminos and two ships were already prevented on their scheduled visits to prevent them from interacting physically with residents.

Crews of vessels transporting coal to the Sual Power Plant are also ordered not to go ashore. Crews of foreign vessels arriving at the Sual Port that dismebark will be ordered to be quarantined.

Dr. Anna Ma. Theresa de Guzman, the provincial health officer, said the two measures were adopted by the provincial government to prevent the entry and spread of the 2019 Coronavirus Acute Respiratory Disease or nCov into the province and in compliance with the protocol in effect against nCov.

She also announced that an Australian medical mission’s visit to Pangasinan was cancelled after the doctors and nurses in this team were prevented from leaving their country because of the nCov scare. (Leonardo Micua/Nora Dominguez)

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