1-year-old COVID positive patient in Oriental Mindoro recovers

Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro – A 1-year-and-nine-month-old baby female patient here, the youngest who tested positive for COVID-19 in the country, was discharged from the Maria Estrella General Hospital on Friday.

In his official Facebook account, Oriental Mindoro Gov. Humerlito “Bonz” Dolor announced that the baby patient tested negative on her 2nd COVID test result from the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM).

This means that the baby has fully recovered from the disease.

The said baby patient will undergo 14-day home quarantine and follow up check-up, based on the doctor’s recommendations. She was also given oral medicines.

On March 27, the baby tested positive for the new coronavirus, COVID-19. The patient had a travel history in Alabang, Muntinlupa City, where she stayed from March 5 to 12 before she was brought home to Oriental Mindoro.

The patient had no symptoms of the disease then but on March 2, had fever and was brought to the hospital.

Dolor explained that based on the Department of Health (DOH) protocols, a COVID positive patient is said to have fully recovered if he tested negative twice and showed no symptoms of the disease pending the second test result.

The said protocol was in place to ensure that the patient is completely free of the virus despite showing no symptoms.

Aside from the baby, five other Oriental Mindoro residents tested negative for the virus and they are as follows: 82 year old male (Calapan), 10 year old male (Socorro), 32 year old male from Roxas and 75 year old male from Victoria.

Dolor advised residents though not to be complacent against the virus.

“The measures we started such as strict home quarantine, liquor ban, mandatory wearing of face masks, physical distancing and regular handwashing, we should always do them. Because we shouldn’t be negligent,” he told the province’s public information services division in an interview.

Statistics from the Oriental Mindoro provincial government said as of April 1, the province had 13,373 persons under monitoring and 52 persons under investigation.

About Jeremaiah Opiniano