MANILA, Philippines — A member of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) whose post was at a quarantine facility passed away before his novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) test results could be released.
Sans proper test results, it is not yet clear if the employee's death was linked to the new pathogen, though personnel of the department have already placed themselves in self-quarantine as a precautionary measure.
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This was confirmed by Anna Lamentillo, chairman of the DPWH’s Build, Build, Build committee, in a statement issued late Sunday night.
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"A colleague in DPWH, who worked in the PICC Quarantine Facility, died today. He exhibited diarrhea and was already tested for COVID-19. We are now awaiting results of the test. Please join us in praying for him and his family," her statement read.
"DPWH has already contacted the members of his family and has extended assistance. We have started with the process of contact tracing. We will voluntarily submit to self quarantine while awaiting the results from RITM," she added.
Lamentillo confirmed to Philstar.com earlier that PICC was one among many public facilities being converted into quarantine centers, with a capacity of 294 patients.
READ: Government readies 7,000 hospital beds in COVID-19 isolation hubs
Managed by the Philippine National Police Medical Corps, the fully-airconditioned PICC health facility is set to house patients with mild to moderate cases of COVID-19. It was turned over by the Villar group on April 15.
According to Lamentillo, the DPWH is also looking at other sites for conversion, including Amoranto Stadium, Quezon Institute, Dutyfree, FTI, Filinvest Tent, PhilSports Complex, Quezon City Circle, Veterans Memorial Circle, New Clark City Government Center and New Clark City Athlete's Village.
As of this writing, the Department of Health has recorded 6,259 cases of COVID-19, according to the department's latest online press conference Saturday evening.
Despite over a month of enhanced community quarantine in a bid to flatten the curve of the virus' spread, cases of COVID-19 in the Philippines continue to surge each day.
If you believe you have come into possible contact with infected patients, you may be directed to the proper office of the Department of Health for advice through the following lines: (632) 8651-7800 local 1149/1150 or (632) 165-364. You may also opt to call the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine at (02) 8807-2631/ 8807-2632/ 8807-2637. The general public has also been encouraged to forward its concerns to the Health Department's dedicated 24/7 COVID-19 hotlines (02) 894-COVID and 1555 (free for all subscribers).