(Eagle News)–The Philippines has recorded two more cases of the novel coronavirus, bringing the number of confirmed cases to five.
The Department of Health also noted that two of the three foreign nationals who were confirmed to have COVID-19 and who were reported to have a travel history to the Philippines may have contracted the disease somewhere else.
In a press briefing on Friday, March 6, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the Philippines’ two new cases were a 48-year-old Filipino with a travel history from Japan and a 62-year-old Filipino in San Juan with no travel history.
The 48-year-old, the DOH said, returned to the Philippines last February 25 and experienced chills and fever beginning March 3.
He tested positive for COVID-19 on March 5 after seeking medical assistance.
He is currently stable and admitted at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine.
The 62-year-old, on the other hand, who has hypertension and diabetes mellitus, experienced cough with phlegm last February 25.
He is known to have regularly visited a Muslim prayer hall in Barangay Greenhills, San Juan City.
The patient sought medical consultation at a hospital in Metro Manila last March 1 and was admitted with severe pneumonia.
He tested positive for COVID-19 on March 5.
“Contact tracing is being done for the two cases and samples have already been collected from close contacts,” the DOH said.
Foreign nationals with COVID-19 with travel history to PHL
According to the DOH, two of the three COVID-19 cases of foreign nationals who were reported to have had a history of travel to the Philippines may have contracted the disease prior to their coming to the country.
The first case, the DOH said, a 38-year-old Taiwanese male who visited the Philippines from February 28 to March 3, 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 DOH said.
The DOH noted that the second case, a 44-year-old Japanese male who visited the Philippines from February 21 to 28, traveled to Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Japan before he contracted the virus.
He stayed at three different hotels during his visit to Metro Manila until he flew back to Thailand last February 28.
He 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. The patient was 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 said.
As for the third case, a female living in Sydney, Australia, the DOH said it was still verifying information with the International Health Regulation National Focal Point Australia.
The DOH said the patient attended a wedding in Manila on February 13 and visited Pangasinan.
She left the country for Sydney on March 2, and was confirmed with COVID-19 by the New South Wales Government on March 3.
The first three confirmed COVID-19 cases of the Philippines were all Chinese nationals who came to the country.
One died, the other two recovered.
The Philippines has imposed a travel ban on several countries including China as a precaution against COVID-19.
