BACOLOD City – A 43-year-old Canadian national who was under investigation for a possible 2019 novel coronavirus acute respiratory disease (2019-nCoV ARD) infection had tested negative for the virus.
Dr. Julius Drilon, medical center chief II, said in a statement that this was based on the result of the confirmatory testing from the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM).
He added the patient, who was admitted at the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH), was discharged from the hospital on yesterday.
As of Wednesday, the City Health Office reported two more PUIs – a 67-year-old male, a foreign national, who had a layover in Taiwan, and a 30 to 40-year-old Filipino male who traveled to Hong Kong.
CHO Environment and Sanitation Division head Grace Tan said the swab samples of the latest two patients would be sent to the RITM as soon as possible.
One of the two is a 12-year-old with a history of travel to Hong Kong and Macau while the other is a 58-year-old female. They are now confined in a tertiary hospital, she added
The remaining two PUIs were also at the hospital waiting for the laboratory results from the RITM.
“The CLMMRH is assuring the public that the hospital is implementing strict infection control measures in providing treatment to these patients,” Drilon said.
He also urged the public to always verify information related to nCoV from the Department of Health website and to refrain from spreading fake news.
The Bacolod City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council has passed a resolution requesting for a P10-million budget that will be utilized by the inter-agency task force for the prevention and control of Novel Coronavirus (nCoV). (With a report from PNA/PN)
