The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Wednesday said it will assist the Department of Health (DOH) to mitigate any possible health hazards posed by the new coronavirus strain from China.

“They (police officers) have been given instructions to ensure the availability of PNP personnel to assist the DOH in containing possible public health hazards posed by this virus,” PNP spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac said in a statement.

PNP chief, Gen. Archie Gamboa has earlier ordered Health Services director, Brig. Gen. John Luglug and regional directors to coordinate with their DOH counterparts to assist once the agency conducts contact tracing of people who might manifest flu-like symptoms caused by the new virus, if necessary.

On Wednesday, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III reported that a five-year-old boy from China who tested positive for a non-specific pancoronavirus has recovered from flu-like symptoms.

Reports said the Chinese boy was already sick when he arrived from Wuhan, China with his mother in Cebu on January 12.

Duque said there are six known strains of coronavirus to date, including the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome.

Since the virus is characterized by flu-like symptoms, Duque advised the public to take appropriate medicines like analgesics and paracetamol if they have contracted the virus.

The DOH’s Bureau of Quarantine has placed additional thermal scanners at the country’s airports to identify people who might manifest flu-like symptoms such as high fever and cough, as more travelers are expected during the Chinese New Year exodus.

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses ranging from the common cold to more serious infections such as MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV, the DOH said.

The common signs of coronavirus infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In severe cases, it can cause pneumonia, acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure, and even death, it also said.

An outbreak of pneumonia cases of unknown etiology was reported in a seafood market in Wuhan, China on Dec. 31, 2019.

The strain was later determined as 2019-nCoV, a new coronavirus that has not been previously identified in humans. (PNA)