No cases of coronavirus recorded in the Philippines, so far —DOH

No suspicious cases of coronavirus has been recorded in the Philippines yet, since China announced a pneumonia outbreak last December, according to the Department of Health.

The World Health Organization earlier said that pneumonia cases recorded in the Chinese city of Wuhan may have been caused by a virus that came from the family of SARS and MERS.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III ordered a stricter quarantine at airports following the outbreak in China.

Quarantine agents have been paying careful attention to passengers from China, especially those who went to the Wuhan Market, which is believed to be the source of the virus.

All passengers are checked through a thermal scanner and asked to detail where they came from and where they are going to in the Philippines, according to a Sunday report on Balitanghali Weekend by Bernadette Reyes.

The Research Institute for Tropical Medicine and the San Lazaro Hospital are also prepared to isolate passengers showing symptoms of upper respiratory tract infections.

Facilities for such cases are also available at the Bureau of Quarantine.

Meanwhile, the DOH said the virus is not contagious since there is no proven human-to-human transfer of the disease.

The DOH also advised travelers to always practice proper hygiene and to wear a face mask. —Julia Mari Ornedo/LBG, GMA News