Road in Pandi, Bulacan barricaded after resident sent home by hospital tests positive for COVID-19

A road in Pandi, Bulacan was barricaded by local authorities after a resident there who was sent home by the Baliwag District Hospital tested positive for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

According to a 24 Oras report by Jonathan Andal on Wednesday, the patient was sent home after seeking consultation at the hospital since she was asymptomatic and could not be tested for COVID-19 due to a lack of test kits.

“Sinabi ko nga noon, ayaw namin. Pero dahil sinabi ng Department of Health, sinabi ng provincial health officer, so pinauwi nila dito,” Mayor Enrico Roque said.

Roque said they offered their quarantine facility to the patient, but she chose to isolate at home instead.

In an interview with GMA News, the patient said she is quarantined inside her room and hardly comes into contact with the other people in her household.

“'Di ko kasi alam paano natakot 'yung taumbayan sa barangay ko. Feeling ko talaga, 'yung nadi-discriminate? Parang feeling ko, ako na nga 'yung nagkasakit, ako na 'yung dumaan sa matinding trauma, ako pa 'yung masama,” she said.

The local government has already finished tracing the contacts of the patient.

Roque called on provincial health authorities to give them guidance on how to deal with the patient.

“Anong ime-medicate natin, itetreat sa kaniya, e asymptomatic nga siya?” Dr. Joy Gomez of the Bulacan Provincial Health Office replied.

“Ang kailangan lang natin, i-boost yung kaniyang immune system. Walang nakikipag-ugnayan sa aming tanggapan tungkol diyan sa pasyente.”

Pandi has so far recorded two confirmed COVID-19 cases out of the 60 infections throughout the province of Bulacan. —Julia Mari Ornedo/LDF, GMA News