MANILA – The Department of Health (DOH) has reported two more confirmed cases of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the Philippines, bringing the total cases in the country to five.
Secretary Francisco Duque said the fourth confirmed case is a 48-year-old male Filipino with a travel history to Japan.
The patient is currently stable at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in Muntinlupa City.
“The patient returned to the Philippines on Feb. 25 and experienced chills and fever beginning March 3. He had himself checked by a hospital. Samples were collected for testing. These were positive for COVID-19,” Duque said.
The fifth confirmed case is a 62-year-old male Filipino with hypertension and diabetes mellitus. He coughed with phlegm on Feb. 25.
This patient had no known travel history outside of the country, said Duque.
“The patient sought medical help in Metro Manila on March 1 and was hospitalized for severe pneumonia. Specimen collected on March 4 tested positive for COVID-19,” Duque said.
“The fifth case is known to have regularly visited a Muslim prayer hall in Barangay Greenhills, San Juan City. Previous visitors to the prayer hall who have fever and/or respiratory symptoms are encouraged to call the DOH hotline (02)8-651-7800 local 1149-1150 for proper referral to the appropriate health facility,” he added.
The Health chief said contact tracing is being done and DOH is in close coordination with concerned local government units.
DOH also received reports of 3 confirmed COVID-19 cases among foreign nationals who had a history of travel to the Philippines.
The first case is a 38-year-old Taiwanese male who went on a five-day trip to the Philippines with his friends and, while in the country, had diarrhea on March 2.
After returning to Taiwan he had himself checked by a clinic for dry throat and tiredness.
He became the 44th COVID-19 case in Taiwan.
The second case is a 44-year-old Japanese male who visited the Philippines from Feb. 21 to 28. Prior to visiting the Philippines, he traveled to Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Japan. He stayed at three different hotels during his visit to Metro Manila.
The third case is an Australian female (from the southeastern state of New South Wales) in her 60s who traveled to the Philippines.
“These recent developments are significant, but we are prepared to respond to its potential consequences. Our priority is to protect our health workers and the most vulnerable populations,” Duque said.
“We can still contain the spread of the virus in the country, which is why we are encouraging the public to practice proper hand-washing, social distancing, and cough etiquette. We call on the public to be vigilant and continue doing their part in containing the disease,” he added./PN
