By Joseph Pedrajas

The head of the Caloocan City health department, who was advised by the Department of Health (DOH) during consultation that she did not need to undergo quarantine because she is asymptomatic, has tested positive for coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Mayor Oca Malapitan on April 16, Thursday, disclosed this in his Facebook page and said that the patient had her swab taken for testing on April 9 as part of the DOH memorandum.

Malapitan said, however, that when the patient sought advice from a member of the health department, she was told that “she did not need to undergo quarantine at that time.”

“Kaya nagpatuloy pa rin niyang ginampanan ang kanyang trabaho (So she continued doing her job),” Malapitan added.

The patient reportedly still attended a meeting on April 13. Later that day, she received her test results, which identified her positive for COVID-19.

“Sya ngayon ay nakabukod at nakahiwalay or nagpasa-ilalim sa quarantine habang patuloy na ginagampanan, sa pamamagitan ng telepono at iba pang digital connections, ang kanyang trabaho (She is now on isolation and is undergoing quarantine, while still working digitally),” Malapitan added.

“Hindi niya ninais ang nangyari sa kanya. Subalit siya ay bukas loob na naninilbihan sa bayan ng Caloocan sa kabila ng banta ng sakit sa kanya at sa kanyang pamilya (She did not wish for this to happen to her. Instead, she was courageous enough to continue working for the city, despite the possibility that she or her family might get sick),” the city mayor said.