In a follow-up to the report on the recent imported case of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in the Philippines, The Department of Health (DOH) report that the 36-year old foreigner is now free of the virus after yielding two negative results. He will be discharged today from the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) in Manila.
However, the 32-year old female close contact of the said foreigner will remain at the hospital and complete the 14-day quarantine period.
The DOH also disclosed that 112 contacts that were possibly exposed to the said foreigner were already traced. They are now being monitored daily by the Regional Epidemiology Surveillance Unit until they complete the 14-day observation period.
In addition, the epidemiological investigation showed that the case was not infectious prior to 29 June 2015; consequently, observation of the case’s flight co-passengers prior to 29 June 2015 will now cease.
Health Secretary Janette P. Loreto-Garin reiterated her call to Filipinos who have returned recently from MERSCoV-infected countries to report to the nearest hospital if they experience symptoms like flu, fever with cough, cold, sneezing, or even diarrhea. Also, she stressed out the importance of filling-out the health declaration checklist completely and with utmost honesty.
