Health Secretary Francisco Duque III (right). (PNA file photo)
MANILA -- There is zero local transmission of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in the country, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said Monday.
The two confirmed cases of n-CoV in the country both involve Chinese nationals. The second case involving a 44-year-old man died on Saturday.
"It is very clear and I categorically state that the two are imported cases and the one who died is a statistics for China, not for us," Duque said in a press briefing.
As of noon Monday, the DOH reported that there are a total of 80 patients under investigation (PUIs) for the 2019-nCoV Acute Respiratory Disease (ARD).
Of the 80 PUIs, 67 are currently admitted and isolated, while 10 have been discharged under strict monitoring.
Earlier, the DOH also reported one PUI mortality with a negative result and two confirmed cases with one mortality.
“This substantial increase in the number of PUIs is due to the strengthened surveillance system and contact tracing of the Epidemiology Bureau. We have also expanded the PUI category coverage to the whole of China, following the recent imposition of travel ban to the mainland China, including Hong Kong and Macau,” Duque said.
He added that the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine has also confirmed that 30 PUIs tested negative of the virus and 48 results are pending.
"The Interagency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases is set to meet with President Rodrigo Duterte this afternoon, together with other government agencies and resource persons like experts on infectious diseases for adults and children, to discuss developments and next steps on the management of 2019-nCoV ARD in the country," he said.
As for the quarantine facility dedicated for repatriated Filipinos from China, Duque said that Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija is not yet the final choice of the task force.
"There's also an island being considered for quarantine facility. We are going to present the options we had during the task force meeting to President Duterte tonight to give us the guidance and we need to prepare everyone, especially the communities where the quarantine facility will be situated," Duque said. (PNA)
