Family of dead man informed by Cebu City gov’t of his ‘recovery’ from COVID-19

The family of an elderly Cebu City resident who died almost two months ago was shocked after they were told by the government that their kin has recovered from COVID-19, various media reported yesterday.

In an online post, Stephanie Mabatid shared a copy of her grandfather Fructoso Mabatid’s death certificate, which showed that he died on May 30 of pneumonia and acute respiratory failure. Stephanie also posted a copy of an erroneous certificate she received from Cebu City’s government, dated July 3, which said that Fructoso “clinically recovered” from COVID-19.

In an interview with news show Stand for Truth, Dorothy Valencia, another granddaughter, said it was on May 28 when they brought the ailing Fructoso to Vicente Sotto Memorial Hospital for treatment.

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“When we arrived at the hospital he was given oxygen because he had a hard time breathing. On May 29, 2020, at around 9am, we were finally allowed to see him inside [his room]. When we went back to the hospital again, I looked for my grandfather inside his room and to our surprise, he was no longer there. We didn’t know that he was brought to the isolation building. Around 11, his doctor called and…unfortunately, he told my uncle that [my grandfather] passed away,” Valencia said in English and Filipino.

However, on July 11, Fructoso’s family received the certificate of recovery from the Cebu City health department. Stephanie said that her grandfather was tested for the coronavirus, but his results have yet to be released by the hospital. She and the rest of her family have also been tested, and all of their results turned out negative.

The Cebu City government has apologized for the mistake, which was reportedly caused by a mix-up in their records. The family has urged the local government to do its best to avoid committing the same error in the future.

“I hope they work efficiently. We understand that their job is tough but I hope this doesn’t happen again. I hope this serves as a lesson to them,” Valencia told news program 24 Oras.