ILOILO CITY –– Three Chinese nationals confined at the provincial hospital of Aklan for possible novel coronavirus or 2019-nCoV infection were released on Tuesday morning, health officials said.
Dr. Cornelio Cuachon Jr., Aklan provincial health officer, said three children were discharged from the Dr. Rafael S. Tumbucon Memorial Hospital in the capital town of Kalibo and were recovering.
A 6-year-old boy from Wuhan City in Hubei province, who was vacationing with his family in Boracay, was confined at the hospital on Thursday, January 23, after coming down with fever and experiencing coughing.
A test showed he had influenza, according to Cuachon.
Two female siblings from Shanghai City, aged six and eight, were also confined on Sunday. Samples were taken from them and were sent to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in Manila.
The three are among the 27 “persons under investigation” in the country for suspected 2019-nCoV.
Dr. Glen Alonsabe, Western Visayas epidemiologist, said 10 persons have been tested in Western Visayas in the past two weeks for suspected 2019-nCoV infection. These include eight persons at the Dr. Rafael S. Tumbucon Memorial Hospital.
Dr. Marlyn Convocar, Department of Health Western Visayas director, reiterated the earlier statement of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III that there is no confirmed 2019-nCov case in the country.
Health personnel and hospitals in the region have been placed under a Code White alert to prepare personnel and resources for an unconfirmed report of reemerging diseases.
Convocar encouraged residents to observe preventive measures, including thorough washing of hands and covering the nose and mouth when sneezing or coughing.
Health and quarantine personnel are closely monitoring Western Visayas, especially Aklan province, due to direct flights between destinations in China and the Kalibo International Airport.
The flights cater to tourists bound for Boracay Island in Malay town in Aklan.
On Monday evening, a group of 150 tourists from Wuhan City flew out from the KIA, the last batch of tourists from the city, who arrived in Kalibo before flights between Wuhan and Kalibo were indefinitely suspended.
Chinese tourists are the top visitors on Boracay Island.
Several residents of Boracay have earlier called for the suspension of direct flights from China to Kalibo as part of measures to prevent the spread of the disease./lzb