COVID patient’s sudden death remains a puzzle

By Emme Rose Santiagudo

The sudden death of a repatriated Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) who was infected with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remains a mystery for local authorities.

The 39-year-old male OFW repatriate from the town of Anilao in Iloilo province (WV Patient No. 115) expired Saturday morning, according to the Department of Health-Center for Health Development Western Visayas (DOH-CHD 6)

Dr. Jessie Glenn Alonsabe regional epidemiologist of DOH-CHD 6 said the patient was found dead in the comfort room of West Visayas Sanitarium in Sta. Barbara, Iloilo.

According to Alonsabe, he only received information from West Visayas Sanitarium that the patient succumbed to cardiac arrest.

As to the main cause of his death, Alonsabe said he has yet to receive a copy of the patient’s death certificate.

“Ang ginhambal sang Sanitarium nagka-cardiac arrest siya but as to the main cause of death wala ko pa personally makita ang iya death certificate,” he told Daily Guardian in a phone interview on Sunday.

The sudden death of the patient came as a surprise to the health department and the local government of Anilao especially that the patient only exhibited mild symptoms.

“We are shocked kay siyempro wala man naton ginaexpect ang iya sudden death but we are also looking at other cases nga lain man ang ginkamatayon sa Covid,” Alonsabe said.

Based on his travel history, the patient arrived in Iloilo last March from Spain.  He went back to Manila to process his papers but got stranded due to the lockdown imposed by the national authorities.

He returned to Iloilo on May 27 where he was tested upon arrival and came out positive for COVID-19 on June 1. He stayed in the dedicated facility quarantine area of Anilao.

The patient was admitted to West Visayas Sanitarium on June 2, 2020 after experiencing light fever, according to Alonsabe.

He recovered from his fever and only complained of having difficulty in sleeping.

“Nagsulod siya sa Santarium kay tungod may gamay siya nga fever pero after that wala naman siya siya pagsulod niya and may gamay-gamay lang siya na ubo. Waay man siya iban na complains garing indi lang siya garing katulog amo na gintagaan lang siya nila bulong para magatulog,” Alonsabe said.

Alonsabe said the patient has no co-morbidities and did not exhibit severe symptoms such as chest pain or shortness of breathing.

Due to the patient’s unclear cause of death, Anilao Mayor Natalie Ann Debuque sent a letter of inquiry to West Visayas Sanitarium.

“Nagpadala na ang Anilao LGU sang letter of inquiry sa medical center chief sang nasambit nga ospital bangud ang ini nga hitabo naghatag sang dako nga katingala sa amon kag sa iya pamilya. Base sa monitoring sang amon Rural Health Unit (RHU) kada adlaw halin sang pagpasulod sa iya sa ospital, stable man ang kondisyon sang pasyente kag may ara lang ini sang mild symptoms,” Debuque said in an official statement posted in her official Facebook page on Saturday.

Alonsabe said the patient should be subjected to autopsy to identify the cause of death; however there is currently no available facility that can handle the autopsy on a COVID-19 patient.

“For autopsy man ni siya tani garing daw indi man pwede i-autopsy siya tungod may Covid siya, waay kita facility diri nga butangan for autopsy,” he said.

This is the first recorded death of a COVID-19 positive OFW repatriate in Western Visayas.

The last death in the region was on May 3, 2020 involving a patient from Bacolod City.

As of Saturday, COVID-19 cases in the region totaled to 125 with 88 recoveries and 11 deaths.