Another patient from Northern Mindanao who was under investigation for contracting the 2019 novel coronavirus (nCoV) was tested negative by the Department of Health (DOH).

Dr. Adriano Suba-an, officer-in-charge of DOH-Region 10, said he received the findings from the DOH national headquarters late Monday evening (February 3), making the number of persons under investigation (PUI) for suspected nCoV contagion in the region down to three.

Suba-an bared the information during the response briefing organized by the Cabinet Officers for Regional Development and Security (Cords) Region 10 on Tuesday, which discussed the region’s measures against the viral disease.

Suba-an said the two of the remaining PUIs are located in Camiguin provincial hospital, and one in Northern Mindanao Medical Center in this city.

The first person to have been declared negative from the virus on January 27 was a Chinese tourist who was quarantined in Camiguin. Officials said that patient had already left the island-province after being cleared of the virus.

“We are still waiting for the three test results from the three PUI,” Suba-an said.

Suba-an said that test samples from the PUIs usually take around 48 hours after being studied at the government-run Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM).

He explained the findings for the first PUI in Camiguin took longer because the specimen was brought to Hong Kong and then forwarded to Australia for further examinations.

“The turn-around was slow. But during the command conference, the real-time PCR (polymerase chain reaction) arrived. It’s an equipment that can detect nucleic acid of the virus,” he said.

Suba-an also said the DOH has two categories in determining potential individuals suspected of carrying the virus.

“These are the presence of fever – respiratory signs and symptoms; travel from China and its Special Administrative Regions (Macau and Hong Kong) in the last 14 days, and exposure to positive persons. If you qualify for two or more, you are a person under investigation, but if qualified under one criterion, you are a person for monitoring,” he said.

Military cooperation

Meanwhile, Maj. Gen. Franco Nemecio Gacal, commander of Army’s 4th Infantry Division, said that the military’s health and infirmary facilities are ready should “dire consequences arise”.

Gacal also said military officers, who are also medical professionals, can help with the operations in dealing with the virus.

“Our soldiers are on top of the line; In fact, in some countries, they are the ones who packed medical bags,” he said.

‘Whole of government’

Meanwhile, the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) directed regional government officials under Cords-10 to follow the directives of President Rodrigo Duterte in dealing with nCoV in their localities.

PCOO Undersecretary Marvin Gatpayat also asked local government units to activate their barangay health response mechanisms to help disseminate correct information and avoid public confusion.

“Let us not resort to panic, fearmongering, or misinformation,” Gatpayat said. (PNA)