Man with COVID-19 brings wife to hospital as she goes into labor

A COVID-19 patient violated quarantine protocols to bring his pregnant wife to a hospital in Calamba, Laguna.

According to John Consulta's report on "24 Oras," officials of Barangay Bucal immediately imposed safety measures such as wearing of personal protective equipment to confront the 23-year-old man when they found out he was positive for COVID-19.

A village officer, who was not named in the report, said they had earlier advised the couple to call an ambulance if the wife needed to go to the hospital.

"We gave them a list of contacts to call for an ambulance in case the wife went into labor. But they went there without calling us or informing us," she said in Filipino, adding that the couple hailed a tricycle to go to the hospital.

Jeff Rodriguez, chief of Calamba Public Order  and Safety Office, hit the patient's move as it would pose risk to his close contacts.

"Instead of helping us, you made it worse,"  Rodriguez said.

The patient, who will be facing complaints for violating the quarantine rules, defended his move, saying that he could not abandon his wife who was in labor.

"I didn't want to go out but I couldn't just abandon my wife and child," he said in Filipino. — Consuelo Marquez/BM, GMA News