DOH: 8 ‘close contacts’ of Chinese couple with nCoV showed flu-like signs

MANILA, Philippines — Eight persons who were in close contact with the Chinese couple found positive for the novel coronavirus acute respiratory disease (2019-nCoV ARD) have shown flu-like symptoms and are now being strictly monitored, the Department of Health (DOH) disclosed Monday.

DOH epidemiology bureau head Dr. Ferchito Avelino said in a press briefing that the eight patients are among the 74 “close contacts” of the Chinese couple already accounted for by local health officials.

Specifically, the eight patients exhibited cough and colds, according to Avelino, and are currently isolated in hospitals.

Meanwhile, the remaining 66 persons have been advised on how to properly place themselves on self-quarantine – which means they will not be associating with their family members as they undergo monitoring for 14 days.

The eight individuals are also among the 80 patients under investigation by DOH as of Monday.

READ: 80 patients now under investigation for new coronavirus – DOH

On January 30, DOH confirmed the country’s first case of the 2019-nCoV ARD – a Chinese woman, who came to the Philippines on January 21 and was admitted to a hospital in Manila on January 25 for mild cough.

The 38-year-old Chinese tourist, who hails from the city of Wuhan – the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak, has already traveled to Cebu and Dumaguete prior to seeking treatment for her mild cough in Manila.

Three days later or on February 2, DOH announced the country’s second case of the 2019-nCoV ARD: the Chinese woman’s partner – a 44-year-old Chinese man, who died February 1 from the virus, which mainly causes severe pneumonia. The death of the Chinese man, who likewise came from Wuhan, was then tagged as the first death from 2019-nCoV in the Philippines and outside China.

During the press conference, Health Secretary Francisco Duque revealed that the signs earlier shown by the Chinese woman prior to the test were “more suggestive” than those exhibited by her partner.

DOH is continuously trying to trace those who have been in close contact with the Chinese couple infected with the 2019-nCoV ARD, Duque said.

In the same press briefing Monday, DOH Undersecretary Eric Domingo clarified why samples from the country’s first 2019-nCoV fatality were not immediately sent for testing.

According to Domingo, DOH had initially coordinated with an Australian laboratory to test samples from six patients under investigations for the new coronavirus and the samples from the Chinese man were the seventh in line.

“Hindi kasi sila ‘yung mga unang pasyente natin. Nasabi na sa Australia na magpapadala tayo ng anim. Mahirap kasi ang coordination dahil mga infectious sample ito. Hindi ka pwedeng walo or pito bigla ang ipapadala,” he explained.

(They were not our first patients. We already told the laboratory in Australia that we will send six samples. Coordination was tough because these are infectious samples. You cannot just suddenly send eight or seven samples.)

Samples from the Chinese man were only tested after the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine set up last week its own laboratory to examine the specimen for the novel coronavirus.

Edited by KGA