A 57-YEAR-OLD Chinese man became the third person under investigation (PUI) for the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) to have died in the Philippines, the Department of Health (DOH) announced Friday, February 7.
As this developed, the DOH Epidemiology Bureau said 36 people who have had contact with the three confirmed 2019-nCoV cases have exhibited symptoms of flu and respiratory infection.
Of the 36, 32 were traced through the Chinese couple, the first two confirmed 2019-nCoV cases, while four were contacts of the third case.
With these additional 36 PUIs, the list has grown to 215 PUIs as of Friday.
Of the total, 184 are currently admitted and isolated, nine refused admission, and 17 have been discharged but are under strict monitoring.
The number does not include the three positive cases and the mortalities. One of the positive cases was also one of the three mortalities.
In a press conference Friday, DOH Undersecretary Eric Domingo disclosed that the 57-year-old Chinese man died of pneumonia while admitted at the San Lazaro Hospital in Manila.
The patient, however, had "underlying restrictive lung disease" and tested negative for the 2019-nCoV twice.
"It was confirmed yesterday (Thursday). It is a case of pneumonia in a patient with underlying restrictive lung disease," said Domingo.
Two other Chinese men who were also both classified as PUIs had also died at the San Lazaro Hospital.
The first, a 29-year-old Chinese male who was found positive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), died of pneumonia. He was later found negative for the 2019-nCoV.
The second fatality, a 44-year-old Chinese male, tested positive for the 2019-nCoV and was the first recorded 2019-nCoV death outside China.
The second fatality had traveled with a 38-year-old Chinese woman, who was identified as the first confirmed 2019-nCoV case in the country. She remains confined at the San Lazaro Hospital.
Including the 2019-nCoV-positive man who died, there are three confirmed cases in the Philippines.
The third is a 60-year-old Chinese woman who initially tested negative for the virus and was discharged from a hospital in Bohol in Central Visayas. She had returned to China.
Forced admission
Domingo said they were studying the legality of imposing forced hospital admission for PUIs who refuse to be admitted to a hospital, thus putting their close contacts at risk.
"Actually, the government really has the authority, especially if we can already see that their health is deteriorating... It might come to forced quarantine. We have the quarantine law, which gives us the authority when really needed ," said Domingo.
"We want them in hospitals if they have symptoms. This is so if their case worsens, we can treat them," he added.
Still, health officials said they don't want to exercise the said authority as much as possible believing they can still convince PUIs to get admitted.
"We are urging everyone, especially the PUIs who refused admission, to cooperate with the DOH, their local government units, and the Philippine National Police (PNP). We owe it to the Filipino people to do our part in preventing the spread of this disease and put everyone’s minds at ease," DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III said in a separate statement.
"Of course, as much as possible, we want it to be a dialogue and in a manner where we can convince them," said Domingo.
"Some are afraid of the hospital expenses. Although, at this point, the government is shouldering the expenses of all patients," he added.
Others, particularly foreign nationals, Domingo said, are faced with communication problems.
"Some of them are foreign nationals and we already asked assistance from their respective embassies for the language barrier," he said.
Contact tracing
The DOH and the police have traced 547 people who came into close contact with the three positive cases.
Of the 547, 441 were the contacts of the Chinese couple, the first two cases. Of the 441, 203 , while 206 have yet to be interviewed due to erroneous contact information.
The close contacts of the first two cases are composed of 379 passengers and crew of the three flights from Hong Kong to Cebu, Cebu to Dumaguete, and Dumaguete to Manila. Some 203 were placed on home quarantine.
The couple also had 62 contacts from hotels/resorts, hospitals, public vehicles, and other places that they visited.
As for the 106 contacts of the third case, 22 contacts have been placed on home quarantine, while the other 80 have no information made available.
The close contact of the third case includes all 90 co-passengers on the flight she took and 16 individuals from hotels and hospitals she went to.
All three 2019-nCoV-positive persons entered the Philippines through the Mactan Cebu International Airport.
The couple, who arrived on January 21, 2020 stayed at the airport for only a few hours and proceeded to Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental. They flew to Manila on January 25, 2020.
The 60-year-old woman, on the other hand, arrived at the Mactan Airport on January 22, traveled to Cebu City and took a fastcraft to Bohol Island. She fell ill in Bohol before she returned home via Cebu City again. (HDT/SunStar Philippines)