Woman gives birth at quarantine checkpoint

By Jennifer P. Rendon

How many persons could claim being born at a checkpoint?

On April 3, a baby girl was brought into the world in a makeshift tent at a quarantine control point (QCP) in Jamindan town, Capiz.

Analyn Casimero, 38, a resident of Barangay Agbun-od, which is a 30-minute drive from the town proper, was waiting for an ambulance to take her to the hospital when she felt the urge to deliver her baby around 7:00 a.m. of Friday.

Police Captain Peter John Pisueña, Jamindan police chief, said policemen positioned her on a folding bed in a canopy while she was covered with an umbrella.

Randy Alantuson of the Jamindan Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office assisted the woman in giving birth.

When the ambulance arrived, the woman and the newborn, her fourth child, were brought to the Rural Health Office for proper medical management.

According to Pisueña, the canopy and bed were used by frontliners manning 24/7 the QCP at the boundary of boundary barangays Lucero and Pasol-o.

From the village where the woman resides, she passed through Lucero, which was placed on extreme enhanced community quarantine after it recorded a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) positive case.

Residents in the area are only allowed to go out for emergency and medical purposes.

But recently, Pisueña said the ambulance has been used frequently because of the rise in the number of medical cases.

“Mrs. Casimero was waiting for several minutes when she told us that the baby was about to go out,” he said.

At that time, the ambulance was on its way to fetch her.

“We’re thankful that the mother and her child are both doing well,” he said.