DAVAO CITY – The 21-year old patient, who was admitted at the Davao Regional Medical Center (DRMC) in Tagum City after testing positive for novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), is already recovering, Dr. Bryan O. Dalid, DRMC chief of hospital said.

Dalid, DRMC chief of hospital, said the condition of the patient, identified as PH130, is now stable and has recovered from the symptoms of the coronavirus.

“Nag-improve iyang condition (Her condition has improved) since the time she was admitted. Nawala iyang ubo, sipon, kalintura (Her cough, colds, and fever are gone),” he added.

He said the patient would undergo another round of nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal tests to determine if she is already cleared of COVID-19.

He said they would send her “swabs” to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in Manila for testing.

He added the patient would be discharged if she would test negative in both tests.

Department of Health (DOH)-Davao Director Annabelle P. Yumang said the patient’s family was also placed under 14-day home quarantine,

“Home quarantine sila (They are under home quarantine),” Yumang said in a text message.

Identified as the PH130, the patient, a resident of Pantukan Municipality, Davao de Oro, traveled from the United Kingdom with a layover via Doha, Qatar to Manila then to Davao on February 29. The last leg of her journey was on a Philippine Airlines flight.

The patient is the first confirmed COVID-19 case in Davao Region.

The patient was placed in isolation on March 9 at a local health facility after seeking consultation due to coughs. The following day, she was transferred and admitted for isolation and testing to DRMC in Tagum City.

Dr. Cleo Fe Tabada, head of the Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit of the DOH-Davao, said contact tracing has already commenced, starting from the relatives and friends with whom the patient had interacted with after her arrival last February 9, and the places where the patient had visited in her province prior to her confinement at the hospital.

She said the Bureau of Quarantine had also contacted the management of PAL to communicate with the passengers who were on that same Manila-Davao flight as the COVID-19 patient.

She urged the passengers, who were on that flight, to immediately report to health centers if they manifest symptoms of the coronavirus disease.

The DOH-Davao has listed a total of 50 persons under investigation in the region. Of them, 29 had been discharged while 21 are currently confined in DRMC and Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao City.