Two COVID-19 cases visited Greenhills, Baclaran mosques

Two patients suffering from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may have contracted the illness after visiting the prayer hall that was frequented by individuals who earlier tested positive for the virus.

According to Mariz Umali's Tuesday report on 24 Oras, the 70-year-old Filipino male, and the 69-year-old Filipino female, patient 16 and 17 respectively, visited the prayer hall prior  to showing symptoms of the virus.

"Parang maire-relate mo rin doon sa Mosque na pinag-anuhan nila, it's dumalaw din sila doon sa Greenhills," Dr. Darius Sebastian, the Parañaque City Epidemiologist, said.

"Since it's a local transmission, dito na rin nahawa sa Pilipinas. [M]aaaring mahawa sa isang tao na na-expose sila na hindi nila kakilala," he added.

Though formerly confined at Parañaque, the couple lived in Greenhills.

"Hindi sila taga-Parañaque. Oo, nag kataon na 'yung mag-asawa dito nag pagamot kasi ayon doon sa aming investigation ay meron silang anak na nag ta-trabaho sa Unilhealth," Sebastian said.

Before getting sick, the couple also visited a Mosque in Baclaran.

"Ang aming tinitignan ngayon 'yung ating contact tracing. Kasi sa initial study namin, sila galing Baclaran, eh," Parañaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez said.

"Oo, umiikot ng Baclaran sila [...] at doon po tayo nag simula," he added.

According to the report, the mosques have been disinfected.

The patients were confined on March 1 at the Unihealth-Paranaque Hospital & Medical Center and they stayed for eight days.

Authorities are presently locating individuals who may have come in contact with the patients.

Meanwhile, the 10 hospital personnel who took care of the patients have been isolated. Health authorities are set to take their samples for testing. They are also getting in touch with family members of the patients.

The patients have been transferred to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) on Monday night. — Joahna Lei Casilao/BAP, GMA News