5 DOH teams formed to trace contacts of 2 Filipinos, 3 foreign tourists with COVID-19; local transmission feared

The Department of Health (DOH) holds a press briefing announcing two more confirmed coronavirus cases in the Philippines (Screenshot of DOH press briefing on March 6, 2020/Courtesy DOH Facebook)

 

(Eagle News) – The Department of Health (DOH) on Friday, March 6, formed five separate teams to do extensive contact tracing for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) after it has confirmed two more positive cases, including a Filipino who has no travel history outside the country.

Aside from the contact tracing for the two Filipinos with COVID-19, the DOH teams will also trace the persons who may have had contact with three foreign nationals – a 38-year old Taiwanese man, a 60-year old woman from Sydney, and a 44-year old Japanese national – who recently traveled extensively in the Philippines prior to their positive test for COVID-19 upon returning to their home countries.

“Since we are looking at five separate individuals (whom) we are considering for contract tracing. Mayroon na pong binuong limang teams ang Department of Health para matugunan ang pag-te-trace ng mga nakasalamuha ng mga taong ito,” said Health Assistant Secretary Maria Rosario Vergeire in a press briefing on Friday, March 6.

Vergeire said that the department had already mobilized their epidemiologic and surveillance units in Metro Manila to lead these five teams, as local transmission of the virus becomes a possibility.

This photo taken on February 23, 2020 shows a worker cleaning chairs at the boarding area while arriving passengers disembark at the international airport in Manila. – The Philippines has five cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus that emerged in central China at the end of last year that has now killed more than 3,300 people and spread around the world. (Photo by Romeo GACAD / AFP)

She said that the same protocols will apply as what had been done in the contact tracing of the first three positive COVID-19 cases in the country — Chinese citizens who arrived in the country from Wuhan before the lockdown has been implemented. One of the three positive Chinese nationals died while admitted in the hospital, while the two others had already been discharged and have tested negative for the virus last February.

-DOH: We need extensive contact tracing-

The five DOH teams will determine the individuals who may have had contact with the two Filipinos who were recently found to be positive for the virus, and the three foreign nationals who travelled in the country before testing positive for the virus upon returning to their home countries.

The two Filipinos found to be positive for COVID-19 were a 44-year old man who travelled recently in Japan and a 62-year old man who has no travel history outside the country. They are considered the fourth and fifth COVID-19 cases in the country.

The fifth case, a Filipino who has no travel history outside the country, had also frequented a prayer hall for Muslims in Greenhills, San Juan City.

Aside from them, the DOH will trace the contacts of the three foreigners who visited the country recently and tested positive for COVID-19 upon their return to their home countries.

“We’re talking about five individuals. May iba’t ibang period of stay dito sa Pilipinas yung 3 foreign nationals May ibat iba ring pinuntahan,” Vergeire said.

“We need to be as extensive as possible so that we can try to trace everybody na nakasalamuha ng mga tao na ito,” she said.

-Foreign nationals who visited PHL test positive for COVID-19- 

The first case is a 38-year-old Taiwanese male who visited the Philippines from February 28 to March 3. He developed abdominal discomfort and diarrhea on March 2, and experienced sore throat, fever, and malaise on March 3.

“The patient consulted at an outpatient clinic in Taiwan on March 4, and was confirmed positive for COVID-19 on March 5. The onset of symptoms on March 2 points to possible infection before the patient traveled to the Philippines,” Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said in a press briefing on Friday, March 6.

The second case is a 44-year-old Japanese male who visited the Philippines from February 21 to 28, but had traveled to Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Japan before coming to the Philippines.

The Japanese tourist “stayed at three different hotels during his visit to Metro Manila.”

“The 44-year-old flew back to Thailand last February 28 and experienced cough, shortness of breath, and fever which began on February 29. The patient consulted at a clinic in Cambodia on March 3 and was referred to a hospital but no tests were done. He flew back to Japan last March 4 and was tested positive for COVID-19,” Duque said.

He is now admitted and is still in isolation at Aichi Prefecture Hospital.

“The extensive travel history of the patient suggests possible contraction of the disease in another country,” the DOH secretary said.

The DOH also revealed that the third foreigner is a female living in Sydney, Australia.

Duque said that the patient attended a wedding in Manila on February 13 and visited Pangasinan for a reunion.

“The patient left the country for Sydney on March 2, and was confirmed with COVID-19 by the New South Wales Government on March 3. As for this case, DOH is still verifying information with the International Health Regulation National Focal Point Australia,” the DOH said in a statement.

According to the New South Wales government website, the Australian found to be positive for COVID-19 after travelling to the Philippines was a 60 year old female who returned to Sydney on March 3, 2020 on board a Cebu Pacific flight 5J39 from the Philippines.