By Marisol Bo-oc | 09:44 PM May 04, 2020
The COVID case tracker of the Department of Health (DOH) on Sunday listed two patients in Bohol province.
With two positive cases of COVID-19, it’s casing an alarming situation for everybody in an island with 1.3 million residents.
“We’ve all been exposed,” said resident Anna who asked for anonymity.
The DOH re-launched a new COVID-19 tracker last April intended to track developments in the country’s fight against COVID-19, including the number of infected individuals and the hospitals treating the patients. It was created to promote “transparency” and accountability.
In a press release on Sunday, May 3, Governor Art Yap said Bohol is still Covid- free and the test results remain ‘inconclusive’.
He said that in a conversation with Department of Health (DOH) Central Visayas Director Jaime Bernadas he was informed that “Bohol can still be considered “Covid Free” since tests conducted on 10 returning OFWs registered negative
Immunoglobulin (Ig) M and Immunoglobulin (Ig) G scores from a Rapid Antibody Test, even while one tested a positive IgG score.”
There were at least 48 OFWs stranded in Manila who arrived in Bohol last April 28.
A Rapid Test is an anti-body test that measures the response of the human body to a virus or any other micro-organism. Even if it cannot identify the virus specifically, the Rapid Test can tell if a patient is undergoing an infectious attack or if the patient has already recovered from an infectious viral or micro-biological attack, the press release added.
In this case, he said, clearly 10 of those tested, registered neither an IgG or IgM score that means they are not undergoing any infection nor have they recovered from any infectious attack. However, one those tested registered an IgG score which means the patient had previously been infected but has now since recovered.
However, Yap was cautioned not to make any conclusions as of yet because the DOH Regional Office in Cebu wanted to make sure about the findings through another round of Rapid Tests.
“It was explained to me by Director Jim Bernadas of DOH Region 7, that the PCR is considered the Covid Test Gold Standard because if taken during the course of an infection, the PCR test can specifically identify the virus attacking a patient’s body. In this case the Covid 19 virus itself. But it is also possible that the PCR is registering the remnants of a past infection. That seems to be the case here according to Director Bernadas.” Yap explained.
The press release added that Dr. Yul Lopez of the Provincial Health Office had personally interviewed the two asymptomatic OFWs who tested positive on the PCR, who said that they could not believe they were infected since they recounted that they arrived from the United States last March 22 in Manila.
Immediately, OWWA quarantined them at the Red Planet Hotel from March 22 to April 26, or until the day they boarded the 2GO vessel bound for Cebu. They stressed that they stayed in the hotel all that time and remained from then up to today, asymptomatic.
Yap instructed the Provincial Health Office to give all the 48 OFWs another PCR test this week to continuously monitor the entire batch’s condition, as part of the previously set protocol.
Yap asked Bernadas to correct the COVID tracker.
“I have also asked Director Jim Barnadas to correct the DOH Covid Tracker immediately, as clearly, the tests are inconclusive in establishing any OFW as being Covid Positive to date. I thank him for his positive response to my request which he has conveyed to the DOH Epidemiology Bureau,” Yap said.
