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First Filipino COVID-19 patient in PH recovers, opens up on recovery journey

As the Department of Health continues to report the rising number of cases of the coronavirus disease or COVID-19 in the country, there are also stories of hope and recovery that some people who fought the disease want to share.
Carlo Navarro, was called ‘PH4’ or patient no. 4 when the DOH started reporting more confirmed case of COVID-19 in the country. He was brought to a private hospital after exhibiting symptoms of the disease after his travel to Japan.
“I was COVID-19 patient no. 4. As patient no. 4, I was the first Filipino to be confirmed positive after a lull of more than a month following the three Chinese travelers from Wuhan,” he said in a now viral Facebook post.
“In Tokyo, we thought we were making-up for the risk by always wearing our masks, vigorously washing and rubbing our hands with alcohol and Thieves essential oil, and wearing disposable latex gloves which we regularly changed and threw away throughout our five days there,” he said.
On his flight on February 25, a man vigorously coughing behind him and he that’s when he thought he could’ve acquired the virus.
Navarro said he “came down with the chills and a low grade fever of 37.7 degrees Celsius.” He clarified that he did not report to work days before the symptoms appeared on March 3.
“That night of March 3, I decided to play it safe and that I be immediately tested. St. Luke’s hospital did not see the need to test me. The hospital said my symptoms were mild, and Japan is not a COVID-19 hotspot,” he shared.
He said that he insisted on being tested and has started isolating himself from his family because he believes he was ‘risky’.
He received the confirmation early March and was transferred to the Research Institute of Tropical Medicine or RITM. He later on acquired mild pneumonia and was on antibiotics the entire time.
Navarro said that they tried to transfer to another private hospital until one accepted them. He stayed in the hospital and later on recovered from the disease.
He is currently in a self-imposed quarantine in their home in Batangas, he will get another testing done for reconfirmation on April 4.
READ ALSO: Three People Recover from Carona Viraus In UAE

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