First nCoV patient tests positive as 2 more foreigners under investigation
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Fri, 31 Jan 2020 07:00:44 +0000
THE first Novel Coronavirus (nCoV) patient, a 38-year-old Chinese woman confined at the San Lazaro Hospital in Manila, tested positive for the disease, the Department of Health said on Friday.
The DoH also said that two more foreigners have become patients under investigation (PUI) — an American and a Chinese.
The country is observing 31 patients, 25 of whom have been isolated while five have been discharged but are under strict monitoring. The laboratory result of the lone fatality has yet to be released.
The DoH also said that the World Health Organization (WHO) has classified the nCoV as an acute respiratory syndrome and has been renamed NCoV-ARS, shortly after it was declared a global public health emergency earlier on Friday.
READ: WHO declares global emergency over China virus
Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe, WHO representative to the Philippines, said the decision was made in an emergency meeting convened in Geneva, Switzerland.
Abeyasinghe said the SARS-like virus could be found in undercooked meat.
While the WHO does not deem it necessary to impose travel and trade restrictions to China, the DoH has recommended the expansion of the government’s travel ban to more Chinese provinces. JOHN ERIC MENDOZA