GROUND ZERO. A tarpaulin covers the signage of a wellness spa in E. Rodriguez Sr. Avenue, Quezon City on Wednesday (Aug. 21, 2024) after it was ordered temporarily closed by the city government. The spa was visited by the country’s first case of mpox and was also found to be operating with an expired business permit. (PNA photo by Robert Oswald P. Alfiler)
MANILA – The Quezon City government is still tracking several close contacts from the wellness spa visited by the mpox patient in the city before the detection of the virus.
In an interview on Thursday, QC Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance Unit (CESU) Chief Rolando Cruz urged those who had close contact with the patient to cooperate with the government to prevent the spread of the virus.
Cruz said the government would be unable to help them should they keep on hiding.
He said the mpox-positive patient, the 10th confirmed case detected in the country since July 2022, reportedly had 41 contacts when he visited a spa.
Twenty-eight of them were considered Type 1 contacts or those who had direct physical contact with the patient, including the masseuse.
He added that they could not easily trace these individuals since the establishment lacked data on these people.
“Meron kaming hinahanap pa. Kinaclarify dun sa Infinity Spa kasi hindi kumpleto yung data nung ibang nasa 27 (We are still looking.We are clarifying with Infinity Spa because the data for some of the 27 were incomplete),” Cruz said.
The 13 other contacts, on the other hand, are low-risk and were told to self-monitor, Cruz added.
Meanwhile, Cruz said that Mayor Joy Belmonte ordered an inspection of all similar establishments as the city intensified its health protocols to prevent the spread of the virus. (PNA)
