DOH 10: “re-run” of virus test says Capitol employee negative
A day after the Provincial Government of Bukidnon confirmed that a female employee has tested positive of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the Department of Health (DOH) Regional Office claimed that a “re-run” of the specimen, which was allegedly initially found “inconclusive,” indicated that it was a false positive or negative result.
DOH X Regional Director Dr. Adriano Suba-an, in a press conference, said that their office monitored the actions of the Bukidnon government. He also said that the RT-PCR or swab tests were administered Monday, August 3, 2020, to 12 employees, 1 of which was the female employee who tested positive. However, the initial result was “inconclusive” so a “re-run” was conducted. The secondary result indicated negative, according to Dr. Suba-an.
Prior to DOH’s announcement, Bukidnon Governor Jose Ma. Zubiri, Jr., via memorandum 591 dated August 6, 2020, suspended work until further notice. There is still no official statement on whether or not work will resume next week, as of this writing.
According to Capitol, the 42 year old employee, a married female and resident of Barangay Casisang, Malaybalay City, has been taken to the Northern Mindanao Wellness and Reintegration Center and underwent additional examinations. The employee accordingly remained asymptomatic. Her family and officemates are already placed under quarantine and contact tracing is now in effect.
Capitol also reportedly announced that the female employee has no history of travel and has had no exposure to any individual found positive of the virus.
Meanwhile, this development has also prompted the immediate family members of the still unnamed employee to post on social media. The employee’s husband posted that he is considering suing the doctor who released the initial result for “humiliating” his wife in public.
