COVID19 UPDATE AS OF 3PM JULY 24, 2020 FOR THE ENTIRE MUNICIPALITY OF COMPOSTELA
The new categories or “case definitions for notification” were based on guidelines issued by the WHO on March 20. They are:
- Suspect case
- Probable case
- Confirmed case
Suspect case
The following may be considered a “suspect case” of COVID-19:
- A person with severe acute respiratory illness – fever of 38°C or higher, cough or sore throat, shortness of breath, and may even include severe pneumonia – whose cause is undetermined prior to testing for the coronavirus.
- A person with influenza-like illness – fever of 38°C or higher, and cough or sore throat – and who lives in or has traveled to an area that reported local transmission of the coronavirus during the 14 days prior to the onset of symptoms.
- A person with influenza-like illness and has had contact with a confirmed or probable case (see definition of “probable case”) of COVID-19 in the two days prior to the onset of that confirmed/probable case’s illness or before that confirmed/probable case showed negative on repeat testing.
- A person with fever or cough or shortness of breath or other respiratory symptoms and is one of the following: 60 years old or older; with a comorbidity or pre-existing illness; in high-risk pregnancy; a health worker.
Probable case
A “probable case” of COVID 19 is:
- A suspect case who has been tested for COVID-19 but the results are inconclusive.
- A suspect case who has tested positive for COVID-19 but the test was not conducted in a national or subnational coronavirus reference laboratory, or an officially accredited laboratory for confirmatory testing.
Confirmed case
A person may be considered a “confirmed case” of COVID-19 only if they were tested at a national or subnational reference laboratory, or at a DOH-certified laboratory testing facility.
This is regardless of whether the person shows clinical signs and symptoms of COVID-19.
WHO defines ‘contact’
The WHO’s “case definitions for surveillance” includes all 3 categories – suspect, probable, confirmed case – and notes a 4th one: contact.
A ‘contact’ is a person who had any one of the following exposures during the two days before and the 14 days after the onset of symptoms of a probable or confirmed case:
- Face-to-face contact with a probable or confirmed case within 1 meter and for more than 15 minutes.
- Direct physical contact with probable or confirmed case.
- Direct care for a patient with probable or confirmed COVID-19 without using proper personal protective equipment.
- Other situations as indicated by local risk assessments.
In the case of confirmed asymptomatic cases, the period of contact is measured from the 2 days before the date on which the person’s testing sample was taken, and all through the succeeding 14 days.

Daghang salamat!
Credits: FB LGU COMPOSTELA