Health officials announced that three of the 13 patients who tested positive of 2019 coronavirus disease (Covid-19) have already recovered.

Dr. Adriano Subaan, Region 10 director of Department of Health, said via teleconference during the Inter-Agency Task Force on Covid-19 in the region, that the three patients who recovered were part of the 17 patients under investigation (PUIs).

Subaan clarified that only four of the 13 Covid cases are residents of Northern Mindanao while the rest are from outside the region.

Likewise, Subaan said the four patients from Region 10 are residents of Iligan City, Misamis Occidental, Lanao del Norte, and this city.

“The DOH is conducting contact tracing and heightened disease surveillance though Barangay Health Emergency Response Team (Bhert) in the communities and the Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (Sari) surveillance team in the hospitals,” he said.

As of Monday, the four of the patients are confined at the Northern Mindanao Medical Center (NMMC) here, said Dr. Jose Chan, the hospital’s medical director.

The patient from Iligan–a 67-year-old female–was brought to NMMC on March 19 and was reported to have traveled to Metro Manila and Bulacan between Feb. 28 and March 3.

Meanwhile, the other Covid-19-positive case is a 45-year-old male from Jimenez town in Misamis Occidental, who also has a travel history to Thailand and Metro Manila. He was admitted at a hospital in Ozamiz City on March 24.

The provincial government of Misamis Occidental is now tracing passengers of a March 14 morning flight of the Philippine Airlines who may have direct physical contact with the said patient.

Misamis Occidental Governor Phillip Tan on Monday called on the passengers to report and observe a 14-day home quarantine while being monitored by health personnel.

On the other hand, the third case admitted at NMMC on March 24, is a 67-year-old male from Tubod, Lanao del Norte, with no known exposure to a Covid-19 patient.

The last case, also known as “patient 597,” is a 71-year-old male from Cagayan de Oro.

Covid-19 patients from outside the region include a 66-year-old female from Lanao del Sur, who was intercepted at the Laguindingan Airport in Laguindingan, Misamis Oriental on March 13.

She was brought to NMMC on March 15, after being admitted at a private hospital here on March 13. Known as “patient 598,” the person has tested negative for Covid-19 and is now recovering, Chan said.

Patient 598’s husband and daughter who traveled with her are now on quarantine at NMMC.

In a separate press briefing held Monday, Chan said there are another 17 patients under investigation (PUIs) now being put on isolation at NMMC. (PNA)