A frontliner at the City Health Office birthing home in Cadiz, Negros Occidental has tested positive for COVID-19, prompting the suspension of some services at the facility.
Outpatient consultations will be temporarily suspended until further notice, only emergency cases and deliveries will be catered to, Dr. Maria Victoria Ibañez, Cadiz City health officer, said today, November 5.
Several City Health Office birthing staff who were exposed to the frontliner nurse, who tested positive for the virus, had to undergo reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests and mandatory quarantine, Cadiz Mayor Salvador Escalante said.
He said it was not known how the nurse got the virus and contact tracing is underway. The staff at the CHO facility wear personal protective equipment, the mayor said.
This is the third time services at the facility have temporarily been suspended in three months, he said.
He said services at the facility were also suspended last month when another nurse also tested positive for COVID-19 after attending a birthday party of her sister. The other staff were then tested and a nurse and utility person were found positive for the virus, the mayor said.
The first time services at the facility were suspended was when a suspected COVID-19 patient died, he added.
Fortunately, the patient and the staff all tested negative for the virus, Escalante said.
There have been 330 persons in Cadiz City who have been hit by COVID-19, of which 202 are active cases, he added.
Ten who were immuno compromised died, he added.
One Cadiz City government department head and six employees have also been hit by the virus, Escalante said.
The Cadiz government has set up a fund for the medical needs of its frontliners hit by COVID-19, he said.*