‘Covid-probable’ man dies; partner demands swab test

A 49-YEAR-OLD woman is asking the government to provide reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing for her family members who are under 14-day home quarantine in Poro, Camotes Island, northern part of Cebu.

This, after her live-in partner died and was only declared Covid-probable.

Elena Otadoy, 49, told SunStar Cebu that she and her househelp are about to finish the 14-day quarantine after her partner Sosthenes Estrera, 78, died in Maningo Ricardo District Hospital, San Francisco, Camotes on Aug. 10, 2021.

Otadoy said her partner was first brought to the hospital on Aug. 4, after he experienced fever but tested negative in the rapid antigen test.

However, Otadoy said they decided to go home since the hospital was full and it was inconvenient for patients who were outside, especially during bad weather.

Otadoy said it is important for her to know the truth if she and her helper are infected with Covid-19. That way, she would know if her partner died due to Covid-19.

Otadoy said she will accept whatever the result will be and will follow health protocol if she will test positive.

“I hope that for our safety and peace of mind, there will be swab testing here in Camotes. We can’t just assume someone has the virus or not. We need to be sure. It hurts that we couldn’t even see him when he died,” she said.

Otadoy narrated that on July 28, her partner started to experience cough and a slight fever and was brought to the hospital on Aug. 4.

Otadoy said her partner took medication for his hypertension but was healthy and active.

She said they were ready to have her partner admitted to any private hospital in Cebu City. However, there were at least 60 patients on the waitlist.

They went home and her husband took the medicine prescribed by the doctor.

On Aug. 9, her partner lost his appetite and was admitted again to the district hospital so he could consume food through a nasogastric tube.

On Aug. 10, the doctor called her to inform her of her partner’s passing.

Otadoy said she had been affected by his loss and her anxiety got worse, causing her to retake her medication for it.

She said she was not able to attend her partner’s burial as she needed to isolate herself.

Otadoy said she had been requesting their rural health unit (RHU) for a swab test after her partner died.

Otadoy and her helper also said they were not monitored by barangay health workers or RHU personnel while they were quarantined.

Poro Mayor Gary Rama, through text messages, said he will investigate this matter with the RHU and the Municipal Inter-Agency Task Force.

He said the RT-PCR test can be done on direct contacts of Covid-19 patients.

“That really depends on the situation. If they’re not first generation or direct contacts, they will not be swabbed,” Rama said in a text message. (MVE)