CEBU CITY, Philippines — Four patients are now under investigation (PUIs) for suspected 2019 novel coronavirus Acute Respiratory Disease (2019-nCoV ARD) in Bohol province.
In a situation report of the Bohol Provincial Health Office, nCoV Spokesperson Dr. Cesar Tomas Lopez said samples had already been taken from the four PUIs and sent to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) for confirmatory testing.
The PUIs included a 31-year-old Chinese female whose first RITM test already returned negative for the 2019-nCoV.
Read more: Filipinos among PUIs in Central Visayas
A Filipino nurse, who was in contact with the 60-year-old confirmed nCoV case, was also among the PUIs.
This, however, is contradictory to the earlier pronouncement of Dr. Jaime Bernadas, Department of Health Central Visayas (DOH-7) director, that none of the contacts of the 60-year-old Chinese developed symptoms.
Two other female PUIs, aged 23 and 24 years old, are also being quarantined. Both patients had recently travelled to to Beijing, China.
“The Provincial Health Office of Bohol assures the public that the BOQ (Bureau of Quarantine), together with all the health facilities are on high alert and is closely watching all airports and seaports in response to this disease,” Lopez said in the Situation Report./dbs