2nd swab test results on Pinay nurse with MERS-CoV expected Thursday

The results of the second swab test on the Filipina nurse who tested positive for the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in Saudi Arabia and who arrived in the country last week is expected to be released Thursday, a TV report said.
 
A report on GMA News' Unang Balita said the second swab test, conducted at the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) in Davao City where the nurse is confined, will confirm if she has MERS-CoV.
 
The 37-year-old nurse, who hails from South Cotabato, arrived in the Philippines last Friday from Saudi Arabia, where she works in the intensive care unit of a provincial hospital there. 
 
She returned to the country together with a fellow Filipina nurse via a Saudi Airlines flight.
 
SInce she was taking care of a patient with MERS-CoV, the nurse underwent checkup and throat swabbing in Saudi Arabia after experiencing symptoms of the virus such as fever, cough, and cold, the Unang Balita report said.
 
She returned to the Philippines before she got the results and was informed on Sunday that she tested positive for MERS-CoV.
 
Even without medicine for the virus, health experts assured the public that there is nothing to worry about.
 
"We're still confirming kung positibo ba siya," said Dr. Ricardo Audan, chief of clinics at the SPMC. "Pero kung positive, there's nothing to worry about because the patient is confined in our isolation room. Binibigyan namin ng gamot based sa kaniyang symptoms."
 
Audan added that a patient with MERS-CoV can only infect others through close contact. 
 
Meanwhile, the second nurse had herself checked at the Lung Center of the Philippines along with her family after learning the medical results of her co-worker, Health Secretary Enrique Ona said Wednesday. 
 
It was learned that the nurse who tested positive for MERS-CoV stayed at the second nurse's home in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, until Tuesday, after which she flew to General Santos City on a Cebu Pacific flight J997.
 
Both the second nurse and her family tested negative for MERS-CoV, Ona said.
 
"So as of today, despite the fact na dalawa ang nakalusot, as of now we can still claim na MERS-CoV free [ang Pilipinas]," he added.
 
As a precaution, all 249 passengers of Saudi Airlines and 143 passengers of Cebu Pacific who had contact with the nurses were informed and advised to undergo examinations. — Rose-An Jessica Dioquino/RSJ, GMA News

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

POPCOM, gagamit ng ‘digital platforms’ para pagtibayin ang mga ugnayang pampamilya

Mas pinalalawig ng Komisyon sa Populasyon at Pagpapaunlad (POPCOM) ang adhikain nitong pagpapalaganap at pagpapabuti ng pakikipag-ugnayan ng mga nakakatandang Pilipino sa kanilang mga anak na nagdadalaga at nagbibinata. Nitong Setyembre 21, ang POPCOM ay nagsagawa ng isang “parent-teen talk webinar” gamit ang Zoom, kung saan ang isang “interactive program” ang nagbigay ng naaayon na kaalaman at kasanayan sa mga magulang, habang tumulong ito sa mga anak na teenager na maabot ang kanilang buong potensyal. Hinikayat din nito ang mga nanay at tatay na sumali sa malayang usapan, lalo na sa mga usapin ukol sa sex at sekswalidad, na nakikitang makakatulong upang bumaba ang mga bilang ng mga pagbubuntis sa hanay ng mga kabataan. Maaaring mapanood ang webinar sa https://youtu.be/lZ9jrJCjYas. Ayon kay Ikalawang Kalihim (Undersecretary) Juan Antonio A. Perez III, MD, MPH, “ang webinar ay naging isang tagapag-simula at ‘padaluyan’ ng pag-uu
Read more

Biden said set to make push for demilitarized Palestinian state as part of new doctrine ---By LAZAR BERMAN

New York Times’ Thomas Friedman, who’s close to the US administration, says emerging doctrine would include Saudi-Israeli normalization, 2-state solution, and campaign against Iran US President Joe Biden’s administration is homing in on a new doctrine involving an unprecedented push to immediately advance the creation of a demilitarized but viable Palestinian state, The New York Times’ Thomas Friedman reported on Thursday. The plan, Friedman wrote, “would involve some form of US recognition of a demilitarized Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip that would come into being only once Palestinians had developed a set of defined, credible institutions and security capabilities to ensure that this state was viable and that it could never threaten Israel.” White House officials “have been consulting experts inside and outside the US government about different forms this recognition of Palestinian statehood might take,” revealed Friedman. What he termed the new “Biden Doctrin
Read more

In Cairo, senior Hamas officials discuss hostage deal with Egyptian intelligence chief ---By TOI STAFF, AGENCIES and LAZAR BERMAN

Delegation said led by terror group’s Qatar-based political leader Ismail Haniyeh; Wall Street Journal reports Hamas demanding 150 security prisoners for each female soldier A delegation of senior Hamas officials arrived in Cairo on Thursday for talks with Egyptian officials on a possible deal that would see the release of hostages held by terrorists in Gaza. The delegation was led by Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who lives in Qatar, and included senior members Mousa Abu Marzook and Khalil al-Hayya, the Qatar-based Al-Araby news outlet reported, citing an unnamed Egyptian source. The Hamas officials met with the head of Egyptian intelligence, Major General Abbas Kamel, to discuss the details of a hostage deal proposal that was presented to the Gaza terror group earlier this week by Qatari and Egyptian mediators. The outline of the deal was drawn up during a meeting in Paris last week in the presence of Israeli and US officials, as well as Qatari and Egyptian negotiators, a
Read more