ILOILO – A 105-year-old man in Maasin town diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) became the oldest patient in Western Visayas to succumb to the viral illness.
While being treated at the West Visayas State University Medical Center in Jaro district, the elderly died on Wednesday night – two days before he was found positive for COVID-19, according to Mayor Francisco Amboy.
“Nag-pass away sia sang Wednesday night pero last Saturday lang namon nabaton ang resulta sang iya swab test,” Amboy told Panay News.
The patient, he said, was admitted at the hospital on Aug. 19 after falling ill due to old age.
After two days, he complained of difficulty breathing.
This prompted the hospital authorities to swab the patient for COVID testing.
“Na–istorya ko ang anak. Aug. 19 gin-admit ang father nya then after two days nagreklamo nga daw indi nami iya pamatyag kag daw nabudlayan makaginhawa,” Amboy said.
He suspected that the town’s first COVID-19 casualty contracted the virus at the hospital.
On Aug. 27, the elderly man’s family decided to bring his body to a local mortuary in Maasin and have it immediately embalmed.
The body was set to be delivered to their house on Sunday, Aug. 30.
“Nakuti na sang balsamador ang bangkay kag ipa-deliver na lang tani sa ila balay sadtong Domingo. Pero nagwa ang resulta nga positive ang pasyente amo to nga gin-lockdown dayun ang punerarya,” Amboy said.
He also placed the family members who had exposure to the patient under quarantine facility and likewise subjected them to swabbing.
Amboy decided, too, to have the patient’s remains cremated at the Gegato-Abecia Funeral Homes and Crematory.
The municipality has six total confirmed COVID-19 infections, three of which were local cases including the latest fatality, two were overseas Filipino workers and one was a locally stranded individual./PN
