No more confirmed COVID-19 case in PH so far, says DOH

MANILA, Philippines – There is currently no confirmed case of coronavirus disease (COVID-19)  in the Philippines as patients who previously tested positive have been cleared of the virus, the Department of Health (DOH) announced Friday.

The DOH has reported three confirmed cases of the new coronavirus strain in the country. The first two patients were a Chinese couple who traveled to the country from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the outbreak.

The man died on February 1, the first nCoV death outside China. The third patient is a 60-year-old Chinese woman who arrived in Cebu City from Wuhan via Hong Kong on Jan. 20 but has since returned to China.

In a press briefing in Malacañang, Health Secretary Francisco Duque said the two living patients were discharged after subsequent tests showed they are negative for COVID-19

Duque, however, stressed that the government cannot afford to “let its guards down” as the local transmission of COVID-19 is still imminent.

“I need to mention this time and again. It’s perhaps not a question of if, but a question of when, that’s why we cannot afford to let our guards down despite the fact that we don’t have local transmission and in fact, all three cases have been clearly established to be imported ones,” Duque said.

“Those who tested positive were discharged and the other one expired,” he added.

As of Friday, Feb. 14, Duque said 191 patients under observation for suspected novel coronavirus infection remained admitted in various health facilities while 260 others have already been discharged.

He added that 252 have tested negative for the virus that causes COVID-19 while 186 have pending results from Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM).

“I wish to reiterate that we do not have any confirmed case of the COVID-19 in the country as of the moment,” he said.

The global death toll on the COVID-19 has killed almost 1,400 people and infected nearly 64,000.

GSG