LUCENA CITY –– Another patient under investigation (PUI), who tested negative for coronavirus disease (COVID-19), died in Quezon province.

The Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) in Quezon, in its 5 p.m. report on Tuesday, disclosed that an unnamed individual classified as PUI was tested negative of the virus, but died of septic shock.

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Last week, the test result of another probable COVID-19 casualty was negative of COVID-19.

The health office revealed the cause of death of the unnamed PUI as “acute respiratory failure,” one of the most serious effects of COVID-19.

The IPHO records show four possible casualties of COVID-19. With the death of the two that both tested negative of the virus, only two remain without test results that could confirm infection or clearance.

Due to the surge of COVID-19 cases, the testing time by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine now takes seven days or more, far from the standard turnaround time of 24 to 48 hours, which was the normal processing time before the deluge of COVID-19 cases in the country.

The IPHO records still showed nine confirmed COVID-19 cases in the province-five from this city, one from Tayabas City and one each from the towns of Sariaya, Sampaloc, and Candelaria.

They were reportedly in stable condition in undisclosed hospitals.

With five confirmed cases, Lucena Mayor Roderick Alcala declared a “total lockdown” of the city.

The IPHO also noted that another confirmed case of COVID-19 from the island town of Polillo is now under quarantine in an undisclosed hospital in Metro Manila.

Contact tracing is now being done in Polillo.

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But the patient from Polillo is included in the list of confirmed cases in the National Capital Region and not in Quezon.

The IPHO also listed 231 validated PUIs as of Tuesday, a huge spike from Monday’s record of 207.

LZB

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What you need to know about Coronavirus.

For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH Hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150.

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