Wife of PMA alumni member gets nCoV symptoms

MANILA, Philippines — The wife of an alumni of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) has been hospitalized for possible infection with the novel coronavirus after arriving from Hubei province in China, putting PMA’s annual alumni homecoming in doubt.

The Philippine Military Academy Alumni Association Inc. (PMAAAI) board is set to meet on Wednesday with Baguio City officials to decide on whether to push through with the homecoming scheduled on Feb. 14 and Feb. 15 at Fort Del Pilar.

An influential PMA alumnus had expressed his support for the three-week lockdown of the country’s premier military school as a precautionary measure against the spread of the virus, citing the case of a cavalier’s wife who ignored the mandatory 14-day quarantine period.

The source, who asked for anonymity, backed the decision of Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong and PMA superintendent Lt. General Allan Cusi in imposing starting Friday last week the three-week lockdown of Fort Del Pilar.

“Right now one of our camps is threatened because the wife of an officer who came from Hubei province manifested the symptoms 5 days after her arrival. Unfortunately she did not undergo the voluntary 14-day quarantine.”

The source lamented that the case would have gone unnoticed if she had not been taken to the hospital.