Cagayan de Oro’s top epidemiologist was admitted to Northern Mindanao’s primary COVID-19 referral hospital, and several of city hall’s frontline health workers under him were isolated, Mayor Oscar Moreno confirmed on Monday, August 2.

Moreno confirmed that the epidemiologist, Dr. Teodulfo Joselito Retuya Jr., was admitted to the state-run Northern Mindanao Medical Center (NMMC), but he declined to give details about his medical condition.

“He’s (Retuya) already in the NMMC. As a matter of courtesy, I would submit to the NMMC because there are protocols,” he said. “We miss Dr. Retuya and his reassuring presence. We wish him well, and we hope and pray that he will recover so he can return to work.”

Moreno said several City Health Office personnel under Retuya were taken to an isolation facility last week, and six tested negative.

Retuya has been leading city hall’s frontline public health workers in tracing, identifying, and profiling people who contracted COVID-19 and their contacts since the start of the pandemic last year.

Moreno has repeatedly acknowledged Retuya’s role in the city government’s approach in handling the city’s COVID-19 cases, and has even referred to the epidemiologist’s group as “Retuya’s Army.”

Two other doctors in Retuya’s team have taken charge of the contact-tracing and profiling operations of the local health office.

“The structure is there. It’s been set up by Dr. Retuya, and he has been in touch with his subordinates, giving them guidance while he is in isolation. Only his presence is being missed,” Moreno said. – Rappler.com