Suspected nCoV cases in Philippines rise to 27

MANILA, Philippines, January 29 ------ Five more people in Metro Manila are now “under investigation” for the 2019 novel coronavirus (nCoV), bringing to 27 the total number of persons in the Philippines suspected of having the potentially deadly virus. At a press conference yesterday, Health Undersecretary Eric Domingo said the five patients in Metro Manila were classified as persons under investigation (PUIs) after manifesting symptoms of respiratory infection and having history of travel in Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the virus outbreak.

“The five additional (cases) on PUI status are all from Metro Manila and they are undergoing preliminary tests,” Domingo said, noting that all of them are foreign nationals, mostly Chinese. “There is no Filipino PUI as of this time,” Domingo added. The Department of Health (DOH) is awaiting results of the laboratory samples taken from 19 PUIs. The Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) conducted the tests for 13 PUIs, while samples from six patients were sent to Australia.

Domingo said the 24 PUIs remain confined in hospital until they have tested negative for nCoV, like the three who have been discharged. Aside from Metro Manila, the DOH said other PUIs are in Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan), Eastern Visayas and Northern Mindanao. Domingo said the DOH is expecting the arrival this week of the necessary primer from China that will allow the country to diagnose 2019-nCoV.

With the primer, he said the testing for nCoV confirmation can be done locally. At this time, samples have to be sent to Australia for confirmation. Health Secretary Francisco Duque III stressed that there are still no confirmed cases of nCoV in the country, but the government yesterday convened the first interagency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases. Duque said members of the task force have agreed to impose temporary restriction on the issuance of visas for travelers from Hubei province. He also reported that the government is already making preparations to repatriate Filipinos who are interested to come home from China. “The government will take care of you, whether you chose to stay or return home. For those who choose to return, you will be taken care of in a health facility for monitoring and further medical management,” Duque said. He added that the government would also issue travel advisory temporarily discouraging non-essential travel to China.

Source: philstar.com