The number of patients under investigation for the deadly novel coronavirus (nCoV) more than doubled Monday to 80, from 32 the day before, health officials said.
These include 67 who are currently admitted and isolated, 10 who have been discharged under strict monitoring, two confirmed nCoV cases—including the first death outside China—and one patient who died of pneumonia but tested negative for the dreaded virus.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said none of the patients were Filipinos, and that the only death related to the virus here was a 44-year-old Chinese man from Wuhan.
The patient was admitted and isolated at San Lazaro Hospital in Sta. Cruz, Manila, but developed severe pneumonia and died.
There has been no local transmission of the disease so far, Duque said.
The first confirmed case was a 38-year-old Chinese woman, who traveled with the man who died to Cebu and Dumaguete before coming to Manila.
Duque said the substantial increase in the number of patients under investigation was due to the strengthened surveillance system and contact tracing done by the Bureau of Epidemiology.
The Research Institute for Tropical Medicine said 30 patients tested negative for nCoV while two tested positive. Forty-eight results were pending.
The Interagency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases was set to meet with President Rodrigo Duterte Tuesday afternoon, together with other government agencies and resource persons, to discuss developments and next steps in the management of virus threat.
Duque renewed his reminders to the public to practice preventive measures such as proper handwashing, observance of cough etiquette, and maintaining healthy lifestyles for added resistance against infections.
Epidemiology Bureau Director Chito Avelino said eight of the more than 70 persons who were tracked down because they had come in contact with the Chinese couple were exhibiting symptoms of coughs and colds.
Avelino said that the DOH was able to trace a total of 74 persons who had been at close contact with the Chinese couple infected with the novel coronavirus.
He said they were immediately advised to go on home quarantine and not to interact with family members for 14 days.
Avelino did not say where these persons were.
The DOH in Eastern Visayas on Monday confirmed a second patient under investigation for the coronavirus.
Dr. Minerva Molon, DOH Eastern Visayas regional director, said the second patient under investigation in the region is a 30-year-old Filipino woman with a history of travel to Hong Kong and Macau.
She developed symptoms such as a cough and sore throat five days after arriving in the Philippines on Jan. 21, the DOH official said.
“Currently, she is now in one of the referral hospitals for 14 days isolation as per guidelines… Samples were collected… for confirmatory test of 2019-nCov ARD in RITM,” said the DOH-Eastern Visayas Center of Health Development.
The first patient under investigation in the region was an American who traveled to Wuhan. He was discharged on Saturday, Feb. 1, after 14 days of quarantine.
The Philippine National Police said Monday that some 105 of its personnel were ready to help in the repatriation of Filipinos from China.
PNP chief Gen. Archie Gamboa on Monday said their personnel are ready for deployment once called upon by the Department of Health to help in controlling the spread of the deadly virus.
The chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosives (CBRNE)-trained personnel belong to the SAF (Special Action Force), the Health Service, Crime Lab and EOD-K9 units.
The doctors from the PNP Health Service could also help in the mandatory quarantine procedures of returning Filipinos from countries affected by nCoV, Gamboa said.
The chairman of the House of Representatives’ committee on health, meanwhile, urged lawmakers to approve a P1-billion supplemental budget to fight the spread of nCoV.
Quezon Rep. Angelina Tan, the panel’s chairperson, said the extra budget could go to strengthening the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine.
In related developments:
• The Metro Manila Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said it sees no reason for the public to panic over the nCoV outbreak. Metro Manila Development Authority General Manager Jose Arturo Garcia Jr. appealed to the public not to spread unreliable information or fake news about the virus.
• The PNP said it is considering a temporary lockdown of its training facilities such as the Philippine National Police Academy and the National Police Training Institute for the safety and protection of the cadets and trainers. Police Gen. Archie Francisco Gamboa said the PNP would coordinate with the DOH.
• Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano called on the house committee on tourism and house committee on economic affairs to start working with the Department of Tourism to assess the short- and medium-term effects the nCoV scare would have on tourism and the travel industry, saying measures should be taken to cushion the impact to this sector. Deputy Speaker Luis Raymond Villafuerte, meanwhile, said local governments should activate task forces on the nCoV threat that could advise their constituents about what precautionary measures they could take.
• Senator Imee Marcos said the government must move on from a belated travel ban and enforce more comprehensive measures to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus in the country. One measure could be random temperature tests at the entrances of court offices, conference venues, and meeting rooms. She said dispensers of antiseptic hand sanitizers should be installed not just in toilets but also along hallways and other strategic places. Also, she said the use of face masks by frontline, public desk, service utility personnel must be required. With PNA
