MANILA, Philippines (Updated 11:59 a.m.)
nCoV patient in the Philippines has
been isolated at San Lazaro Hospital in Sta. Cruz, Manila.
San Lazaro is a government-funded special tertiary hospital that is a referral facility for infectious and communicable diseases.
Related Stories
The Department of Health earlier confirmed that a
38-year old Chinese woman tested positive for the virus.
The patient arrived from Wuhan City, the epicenter of the outbreak in China, through Hong Kong on January 21. She visited Cebu and Dumaguete before seeking medical help in Manila on January 25.
“We are working closely with the hospital where the patient is admitted and have activated the incident command system of the said hospital for
appropriate
management, specifically on infection control, case management, and containment," Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said Thursday.
The Health secretary added that the DOH is implementing measures to protect the health staff of the hospital.
San Lazaro hospital is a special national hospital medical center for infectious diseases. According to its website, the hospital delivers health care especially for the poor suffering from infectious diseases.
The DOH said it has a special team in the hospital that handles the novel coronavirus cases so that other patients in the hospital will not
be exposed to the virus.
San Lazaro Hospital has since implemented a "No face mask, No entry" policy.
According to Duque, the Chinese woman who tested positive for the novel coronavirus is now asymptomatic, which means she is not showing symptoms or any other signs of illness.
"No cough, no fever, no sore throat. She seems to be well but we aren't letting her go until she tests negative for the virus," Duque told ANC's "Headstart
" Friday morning.
The DOH is still monitoring 29 patients under investigation, 23 of which
are
currently
admitted while
the remaining five have been discharged under strict monitoring.
Of the 29 patients, 18 are in Metro Manila, four are in Central Visayas, three are in Western Visayas and one
each
was recorded in the
Mimaropa, Eastern Visayas, Northern Mindanao and Davao regions. — Patricia Lourdes Viray