The Aklan Provincial Health Office is currently on “Red Alert” after three Chinese nationals were quarantined on suspicions of contracting the new coronavirus (CoV) strain, which has claimed three lives. CoV is described as a large family of viruses with some causing less-severe disease, such as the common cold, and others more severe disease, such as Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS; and severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS.
Dr. Cornelio Cuachon of the Provincial Health Office said the first quarantine was a 29-year old last Friday. They were followed by a three-year-old patient the following day and a 65-year old yesterday.
“The 29 years old was advised to stay overnight [at] Dr. Rafael S. Tumbukon Memorial Hospital, while the young girl was considered an outpatient and the 65-years-old patient is currently being checked,” the provincial official explained. “Blood samples were taken from them and the specimens were sent to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in Manila for testing.”
While the latest virus originated in Wuhan, in China’s Hubei province, the three arrived at Kalibo International Airport from different areas of China.
Cuachon urged Aklan residents to remain calm, noting, “This is a new strain; we do not know yet what it is.”
Yesterday, South Korea confirmed their first CoV case after isolating a woman arriving at Incheon International Airport from Wuhan. The case is the fourth confirmed case outside of China after two were reported in Thailand and one in Japan.
Meanwhile, according to a CNN Philippines report, there are currently 201 CoV diagnoses in China./WDJ