3 patients in Davao Region die while waiting for results of virus test

DAVAO CITY (UPDATED) – A 68-year-old Korean businessman who had recent travels to Riyadh and Manila was among the 3 Patients Under Investigation (PUI) for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) who died Thursday, March 19, in the Davao Region .

Dr. Anabelle Yumang, DOH- Davao Region director, said that also among the 3 deaths was that of a 78-year-old who had arrived in the country from  Australia. The patient’s passing was caused by uremic sepsis secondary to urinary tract infection.

“The patient had a pre-existing bladder cancer stage 4 and the cause of death is uremic sepsis secondary to complicated urinary tract infection,” Yumang said.

The third victim had traveled to Laguna and Metro Manila and arrived here on March 9.

“The patient had complaints on epigastric pain with shortness of breath and had undergone an operation at the Southern Philippines Medical Center,” she said, adding that the cause of death was septic shock secondary to ulcer.

Yumang said DOH-11 is currently awaiting the results of the swab samples sent to RITM to determine if any or all of them had COVID-19.

DOH Undersecretary Abdullah Dumama, Jr. said they wanted to expedite the results but they were facing problems on transport.

The city’s airport had been locked down a few days ago to stem the spread of the disease.

“We submitted the specimen on March 17 and I know that as soon as it will reach there, they will do the testing right away,” Dumama said.

As this developed, Mayor Sara Duterte ordered the partial opening of the airport to international and domestic flights for cargo, medical evacuations, weather mitigation flights, maintenance flights, government and military flights, emergency landings and recovery flights for expatriates.

“There is a need to exempt certain international and domestic air travel from the coverage” of the earlier ban, she said in her order No. 18.

The 3 unidentified victims were among 54 persons isolated at the Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao City and the Davao Regional Medical Center in Tagum City.

Davao region has one confirmed coronavirus case. The 21-year-old female from Davao De Oro traveled to United Kingdom and Doha in Qatar. 

The patient, known as PH130, is recovering well since isolation on March 9, according to the DOH.

The region recorded a total of 88 PUIs since the outbreak of the disease. Out of this total, 31 were discharged after getting negative results. 

The region also recorded 3,589 persons under monitoring (PUM) as of Thursday.

The entire region has sealed its borders. – Rappler.com