The City Government of Navotas Saturday confirmed its first positive case of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Through Facebook live, Mayor Toby Tiangco announced that one of the city’s persons under investigation (PUI) tested positive of COVID-19.
The patient was rushed to the Navotas City Hospital (NCH) on March 24 due to breathing difficulty. He also had tuberculosis and died shortly after admission.
Tiangco said he expects the number of COVID-19 patients to increase unless Navoteños take heed of the call to stay home and abide by the enhanced community quarantine.
“Our first COVID-19 casualty lived in a densely populated area. It is also where our Task Force NavoDAMPOT apprehends most of the violators of home quarantine. Unless, we follow the quarantine rules, we can expect more cases of COVID-19 in our city,” he warned.
“Italy recorded 919 deaths in one day. Let us not wait for this to happen in Navotas. We do not have the facilities nor the workforce to contain such widespread contagion of the disease,” he said.
Asked why the city kept the personal details of the deceased, Tiangco explained that disclosing the identity or any personal information of COVID-19 patients violates the Data Privacy Act and the guidelines of the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
Meanwhile, the mayor stressed that the best way to prevent COVID-19 from spreading and finding new hosts is to stay home.
“Think of it this way: when you step out of your house, every person you meet has COVID-19. Worse, you can bring the virus back to your home and infect your loved ones,” he said.
The Navotas City Health Office is conducting extensive information-gathering and contact tracing to minimize the risk and contain the spread of the disease.
As of March 28, Navotas has 125 persons under monitoring (PUMs) and 21 PUIs under quarantine or admitted at NCH. Of the four other PUI deaths, one came out negative and three are awaiting test results from the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine.