Sulu reports first Covid-19 case

SULU – A 63-year old man who died in hospital in Sulu province two weeks ago was positive for the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) disease after test results came out just Friday.

Health authorities have confirmed this report, but details of her death were not made public. However, the Sulu Task Force Covid-19 chaired by Governor Sakur Tan said the patient was a native of Indanan town and died April 19 at the Sulu Sanitarium Hospital.

It was unclear how the sexagenarian contracted the disease since he had no travel history outside the province. He is Sulu’s first Covid-19 case, although 6 others suspected of being infected by the virus, had died in recent weeks.

Tan has appealed again to residents to stay at home and practise social distancing and maintain cleanliness to minimize risk of infection.

“The Sulu Task Force Covid-19 is taking all necessary measures, based on protocols to contain the spread of the virus. We request the people of Sulu to remain calm and not to panic. Please continue to stay home to prevent the infection and spread of the virus,” he said.

Sulu now has six dozen more suspected Covid-19 cases and 58 of them have completed the 14-day home quarantine.

The provincial government continues to distribute relief aid to families in all 19 municipalities in an effort to help local chief executives feed the poor while assisting social workers in the distribution of emergency cash subsidy to all those affected by the pandemic.

Tan previously appealed to the regional government and the national health authorities for medical support, but received little. The regional government only sent 2,500 face masks and bottles of alcohol, although it claimed to have released P155 million to all 5 provinces under it to support efforts to combat the virus. The regional has nearly 4 million populations.

Tan said the provincial and municipal hospitals still lack medical equipment to support the campaign in combatting the spread of Covid-19. He said the provincial government has been asking medical support from the regional government and national agencies, but received nothing.

“Because of the absence of testing kits, the incapacity of our hospitals, lack of ventilators and shortage of sufficient medical personnel to attend to a sudden surge of Covid, our only viable course of action is prevention through a province-wide general community quarantine. We cannot afford to take any chances of putting at risk the lives of our people as a consequence of relaxing our quarantine procedures,” he said. (Zamboanga Post)

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