The two latest patients under investigation in Negros Oriental will soon be discharged after testing negative for the coronavirus disease, or Covid-19. Negros Oriental Public Information Officer Bimbo Miraflor said swab samples from the two patients, a Belgian national and his Filipina wife, which were forwarded to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in Metro Manila, have been released and both tested negative for the virus.
Although the two are soon up for discharge, the provincial official said they will remain confined at the hospital for blood pressure monitoring.
Miraflor also released the couple’s travel timeline, which showed they had flown to Vietnam from Wuhan, China, the city where the virus originated, on January 22. However, when they tried returning to China on January 30, the city was already placed on lockdown. They then flew to Manila on January 31, Bohol on February 1, took a boat to Siquijor on February 10, and arrived in Dumaguete City on February 16.
Earlier, the couple were admitted to the Negros Oriental Provincial Hospital in Dumaguete City after they exhibited “flu-like” symptoms.
Health officials in Negros Oriental recently cleared 65 people who were placed on a 14-day quarantine; 40 of whom had come in close-contact with the Chinese couple who earlier tested positive for Covid-19.
The provincial government also provided P5,000 for the affected individuals as financial support./DGB, WDJ