215 watched for nCoV; PUI dies of pneumonia

MANILA, Philippines — The number of persons under investigation (PUI) for 2019 novel coronavirus (nCoV) infection across the country has reached 215, the Department of Health (DOH) said yesterday.

Of the 215, 184 are currently “admitted and isolated” while nine have refused admission. Seventeen have been discharged under strict monitoring.

DOH Undersecretary Eric Domingo assured the public that the nine PUIs who evaded hospital quarantine have been identified, and the DOH is coordinating with concerned local government units (LGUs) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to bring them in.

“We are urging everyone, especially the PUIs who refused admission, to cooperate with the DOH, LGUs and PNP. It is our duty as citizens of this nation to assist in protecting the health of our fellowmen,” he added.

Officials said the nine PUIs include both Filipinos and Chinese.

Domingo said they want to “exercise caution” by convincing rather than forcing those who are possibly infected with nCoV to undergo quarantine.

But if needed, he stressed that the DOH is backed by the Quarantine Law when it decides to impose quarantine.

Data show that of the 215 PUIs, three have turned up positive for nCoV, 57 tested negative for the virus, while laboratory results of the remaining 155 have yet to be released.

Second PUI dies 

The DOH also reported yesterday that another PUI died on Thursday.  

Domingo said the fatality – a 57-year-old Chinese man – suffered from an “underlying restrictive lung disease” and not nCoV.

He was the second PUI to die while being monitored for nCoV at the San Lazaro Hospital.

“The second PUI death, it was confirmed, is a case of pneumonia in a patient with underlying restrictive lung disease,” Domingo noted in a press conference.

The PUI turned up negative for nCoV after undergoing testing thrice.

DOH data show the first PUI death in the Philippines, and outside China, was a 29-year-old Chinese man who also tested negative for nCoV. He had HIV, among other conditions. 

However, the first death of a confirmed nCoV case in the country was a 44-year-old Chinese man. He succumbed to severe pneumonia last Feb. 1.

He was the partner of the country’s first confirmed case of nCoV – a 33-year-old Chinese woman who is now recovering at the San Lazaro Hospital.

A third confirmed case of nCoV – a 60-year-old Chinese woman who visited Cebu City and Bohol last Jan. 20 – has since returned to China.

Domingo added the bodies of the two fatalities have already “been disposed of properly... following safety procedures.”

“I cannot give you details right now but they are not here anymore. I cannot divulge for privacy reasons and for the dignity of the deceased,” he noted at a press conference.

Contact tracing

As of Feb. 6, the DOH’s Epidemiology Bureau (EB), together with the PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, have identified all 441 contacts of the infected Chinese couple. 

Domingo added that of the 441 contacts, 379 were passengers and crew from flights taken by the couple, while 62 contacts were from hotels and resorts, hospitals, public vehicles and other places that they visited.

Of the contacts reached, 203 were placed on home quarantine, while 32 contacts exhibiting symptoms were categorized as PUIs.

The remaining 206 have yet to be interviewed due to erroneous contact information but the EB is coordinating with the PNP and local authorities to facilitate contact assessment and interviews.

On the other hand, the DOH has reached out to 106 contacts from the third nCoV case who include 90 co-passengers and 16 individuals from different hotels and hospitals.

Currently, 22 contacts have been interviewed and were placed on home quarantine, while four symptomatic contacts have been categorized as PUIs. 

Additional  DOH funds

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives is set to augment the funds of the Department of Health (DOH) for measures to address the nCoV threat.

Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said the House is ready to pass a measure appropriating more funds for the DOH once the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) declares cash availability.

The Taguig representative revealed that House leaders met with DBM officials earlier this week and were assured that the funds for nCoV control and prevention could be augmented once available funds in the current budget are depleted.

“The same thing goes with provinces and towns affected by calamities. Usually the governor and mayor would think their funds are not enough. But they have to use all of their calamity funds first before additional funds could be given,” he explained in an interview.

Cayetano admitted that despite the record P4.1-trillion national budget this year, the government still has a limited budget for calamity funds.

For this reason, the House leader urged executive departments, as well as LGUs, to use their quick response funds and calamity funds to address their people’s needs. 

“What’s important is that we provide to the people what they urgently need,” he stressed.

Cayetano issued the statement after ranking lawmakers proposed the appropriation of over P2 billion in supplemental budget for the DOH to better address the nCoV threat.

Health committee chair Angelina Tan and ways and means committee chair Joey Salceda both filed separate bills seeking additional funds for the DOH this year for the procurement of necessary equipment like surgical masks for health workers and PUIs. – With Edu Punay