5-year-old girl is Nueva Vizcaya’s third coronavirus case

ISABELA, Philippines – The Department of Health (DOH)-Cagayan Valley on Monday, March 30, confirmed that a 5-year-old girl from Alfonso Castañeda town is the third case of coronavirus in Nueva Vizcaya.

In a press briefing, Dr Leticia Cabrera, officer-in-charge of DOH-Region 2, said that the girl, designated as PH1333, had no travel history.

“Ito ‘yung tinitingnan ngayon kasi wala naman itong travel history, itong batang ito. So, ito ‘yung tinitignan ngayon ng ating surveillance [unit] (This is being investigated by our surveillance team since the child has no travel history),” she said.

According to the health official, the patient was admitted to a hospital in Cabanatuan City in nearby Nueva Ecija province after having a cough and fever.

“Noong March 22, ang kaniyang mga sintomas ay nag-progress dahil nagkaroon na siya ng difficulty of breathing (On March 22, her symptoms had progressed because she started experiencing difficulty in breathing),” she said.

Cabrera said the girl was tested March 23 and was classified as a patient with a severe acute respiratory infection. On March 27, she was discharged as stable and asymptomatic. Her positive test results were received a day after on March 28.

The patient, who is the youngest confirmed case in the region, was transferred to the Region 2 Trauma and Medical Center (R2TMC). She remains stable and asymptomatic.

Nueva Vizcaya reported its first coronavirus case last week, March 26.

PH1333 is the fifteenth coronavirus case in Cagayan Valley following the announcement made by health officials on Sunday, March 29, that 3 health workers tested positive for the virus, increasing the total number of coronavirus positive medical staff to 5. (READ: Cagayan Valley reports 6 more coronavirus cases, total reaches 11)

According to DOH-Cagayan Valley, PH1180, a 36-year-old female, and PH1182, a 30-year-old male, were both from Tuguegarao City while PH1261 is a 27-year-old male from Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya.

The two medical personnel from Tuguegarao City were exposed to the region’s first case, PH275. Meanwhile, PH1261 is a health worker at R2TMC.

Cagayan Valley also has 261 persons under investigation and 40,103 persons under monitoring for the disease as of Monday.

The country has a total 1,546 confirmed cases, including 78 deaths and 42 recoveries, and 45 deaths, as of Monday. – Rappler.com