DOH: Another patient under probe for new coronavirus died of pneumonia

MANILA, Philippines — Another individual tagged as a patient under investigation (PUI) for suspected novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infection died Thursday, the Department of Health (DOH) said Friday.

In a press briefing, DOH Undersecretary Eric Domingo stressed that the patient died of pneumonia and not of 2019-nCov.

“The second PUI death which was confirmed yesterday (Thursday) is a case of pneumonia in a patient with underlying restrictive lung disease,” Domingo said.

The first case of PUI death was a 29-year-old Chinese from Yunnan who also succumbed to pneumonia and later on tested negative for novel coronavirus.

As of Friday noon, Domingo said the government is monitoring a total of 215 PUIs, including the three confirmed cases.

The first two cases were a Chinese couple who traveled to the country from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the outbreak. The 44-year-old Chinese man died on February 1. He was labeled as the first 2019-nCoV death in the Philippines and outside China.

The third case, meanwhile, was a 60-year-old Chinese woman, who arrived in Cebu City from Wuhan via Hong Kong on January 20. She was discharged from a hospital in Bohol and returned to China after the initial results of the specimen taken from her tested negative for the 2019-nCoV. However, DOH officials later found out she’s positive for the new China virus, as shown by the result of a separate sample taken from her.

The new coronavirus strain has so far killed over 600 people and infected over 30,000, mostly in China.

Edited by KGA