A Chinese national here who traveled last month to Wuhan, China is now considered cleared from possible infection with the deadly novel coronavirus acute respiratory disease (2019-nCoV).
Dr. Rochelle Oco, acting head of the City Health Office (CHO), said in an advisory issued on Thursday night the male foreigner has completed the mandatory 14-day self-quarantine in the city “without any sign of illness.”
She said the quarantine period was based on a protocol set by the Department of Health (DOH) for persons under monitoring (PUM) for the 2019-nCoV.
Oco said PUMs are individuals who had a history of travel and exposure in the last 14 days to China and traveled to any part of the world with confirmed cases of the 2019-nCoV.
They may also have no history of exposure but with fever and cough, she said.
A report from the CHO’s epidemiology and surveillance unit earlier said the PUM is a businessman from mainland China who had long been staying in the city.
The person reportedly traveled to Wuhan, where the outbreak of the 2019-nCoV was first reported, for the Chinese New Year holidays and returned to the city last Jan. 23.
Oco said the foreigner was not tested for the disease and was not considered as a person under investigation.
She assured that the CHO would continue to closely coordinate their efforts with the DOH’s Bureau of Quarantine and other members of the city’s Inter-Agency Task Force for Management of Emerging and Re-Emerging Diseases.
“(This is) to ensure our safety in the community and secure all ports of entry,” Oco said.
She said the newly-activated Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams have been conducting surveillance in local communities.
“We assure the public that all measures are strictly being followed to ensure that our city remains free from 2019-nCoV,” she said. (PNA)
