Manila Health Department says that the rumored novel corona virus case in Metropolitan Hospital in Masangkay street in Sta Cruz Manila is just a Pneumonia,and was found negative on history of a travel to Wuhan, China.
INQUIRER PHOTO/JOAN BONDOC
Despite Parañaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez’s assurance that there were still no reported cases of the novel coronavirus (nCoV) in the city, some residents of an upscale subdivision on Monday asked local officials to send medical teams to check on their Chinese neighbors.
In a letter to city administrator Fernando Soriano dated Jan. 27, “concerned residents” of Multinational Village in Barangay Moonwalk requested city hall to give “top priority” to conducting health checks for Chinese Philippine offshore gaming operations (Pogo) workers in the area.
Around 8,000 Pogo workers were estimated to be renting houses in the subdivision, compared to the around 2,000 Filipino residents.
“[Pogo workers here] live in sardine-like quarters and then [are] bussed to their nearby workplaces, which are teeming with mainland Chinese. This scenario… doubles their risk… of exposure to the virus,” the residents wrote.
The number of Chinese nationals in Parañaque City has gone up drastically in recent years due to the boom in Pogo offices on Quirino Avenue and Entertainment City.
In a meeting with city hall officials on Monday, residents of Multinational Village were assured by Councilor Wahoo Sotto that “the city health department [would] immediately act on [their concerns] starting tomorrow.”
One of the residents, Mel Marquez, said they were concerned about the possibility of an nCoV outbreak in residential areas hosting Pogo workers.
He clarified, however, that they were not accusing their foreign neighbors of being carriers of the virus strain. But “with the quick turnover of thousands of Pogo workers in the village, the genuine residents are exposing themselves to possible transmission,” Marquez said.
“When the SARS virus broke out years ago, it was simple, you just didn’t go out of your house,” he added. “Now, even when you stay home, you’re not safe. You don’t even want to go to [a nearby mall], because that’s where they often want to go.”
In the cities of Muntinlupa and Pasay where, according to the Department of Health, there were two suspected nCoV cases, some had called out local officials for the lack of information and preemptive action.
In a media briefing, the DOH announced that two hospitals in the two cities had admitted one patient each. Both were undergoing testing for the disease which originated in Wuhan, China.
The Muntinlupa and Pasay local governments, however, said in separate statements that there were no confirmed nCoV cases in their areas.
They also urged the public not to share unverified information about the virus which might create panic and fear.
The lack of additional information, however, did not sit well with a Muntinlupa resident who commented on social media: “Why are you hiding the fact that there is a patient who may be a possible host of the virus? Have the decency to elaborate [on] your post. You have [a] responsibility and obligation to protect your people.”
A resident of Pasay City, on the other hand, called on city hall to implement precautionary methods to prevent the virus from spreading. “Maybe you can give free face masks to us and ensure that the hospital will be ready to admit patients exhibiting symptoms of the disease.”
“We just want to be extra careful because we are surrounded by [people from China] where the virus came from,” said another resident living near Bay City, a reclaimed land east of Manila Bay currently booming with online casinos, residential complexes and establishments catering to mostly Chinese nationals.
Muntinlupa and Pasay are two of the seven cities in Metro Manila which issued letters of no objection, one of the requirements set by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., for Pogo companies to operate in these areas.
The other cities are Mandaluyong, Quezon City, Parañaque, Las Piñas and Makati.
In Manila, the city health department dispelled rumors that there was a possible nCov case at Metropolitan Medical Center (MMC) in Binondo as it clarified that the patient had no history of travel to Wuhan.
Manila city health officer Dr. Arnold Pangan identified the patient as a 27-year-old Chinese Pogo worker from Hubei province who was hospitalized on Jan. 25 for fever and cough. Wuhan is the capital city of Hubei.
Broadcast journalist Raffy Tulfo on Sunday night wrote on his show’s Facebook page, Raffy Tulfo in Action, that they received a text message from ACT-CIS Rep. Eric Yap saying that a doctor had confirmed a possible case of NCoV at the Manila hospital.
Tulfo said that MMC employees were “anxious” about the proper procedure in handling possible nCoV cases, saying they had not been given instructions by hospital officials.
MMC, however, was quick to respond to Tulfo’s post and reminded the public to avoid making speculations that could lead to fear in their health workers.
“Protocol/guidelines were already released this week and we are updated of the situation in our institution,” it said.
As of Monday morning, Pangan said the patient was in stable condition and no longer had a fever. He also clarified that the working diagnosis on the Chinese national, who reportedly resides at the boundary of Pasay and Parañaque cities, was low-risk community-acquired pneumonia. —With a report from Meg Adonis