Some COVID-19 patients voluntarily revealed their identity to help the Baguio City local government for faster contact tracing.
Government nutrition program coordinator Joel Junsay revealed on Facebook that he testes positive of the virus. He is 52 years old and a medical frontliner.
He said he chose to make a “difficult but necessary decision” to inform those he had close contact with to have themselves screened or undergo self-quarantine. He started experiencing symptoms on March 12.
Huawei’s artificial intelligence analyzer read his CT-scan results on March 26. Baguio uses the machine for COVID-19 early screening. His findings revealed he got infected, and the city immediately conducted contact tracing. He was admitted to the hospital and had a swab test on that same day.
Junsay’s results came back positive on March 28. He was Baguio city’s first case of local transmission since he had no recent travel history outside Baguio.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to request if you could kindly include me in your prayers as well as the frontliners who are out there who continue to work, fighting the battle to save lives,” Junsay said.
Also read: Baguio City declares community quarantine
Baguio City COVID-19 patients reveal identity for faster contact tracing
A couple from Las Piñas City
An elderly couple Enrique and Jaysay Bacted, both 67 years old, arrived in Baguio City on March 15. They stayed in Jaysay’s maternal home until March 16.
Jaysay went to a private hospital for a swab test and was later admitted to another private hospital. Her husband went home to undergo home quarantine but was confined to the hospital a week after due to fever. Their results came back positive on March 28.
The local government said the patient briefly stopped at a Petron station along NLEX and a relative’s place in Barangay Nancayasan, Urdaneta City.
Expatriate Vacationing in Baguio City
Rafael Serrano, 59 years old, traveled from Bangkok on March 12 and went to the city for a vacation. He started having symptoms on March 16, the same day he visited several places in the city. He also attended a family occasion after three days.
He was admitted to the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center on March 27. He tested positive of COVID-19 a day after.
In an official statement, Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong appealed to residents to refrain from discriminating and excluding infected patients who bravely revealed their identities. He said they are only responding to his call “in the hope of saving lives.”