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DOH: 371 of 414 Etihad EY 0424 passengers have been contacted


(Updated 2:45 p.m.) At least 371 passengers of the flight carrying the Filipino nurse initially diagnosed with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) have already been contacted by the government, the Health Department on Wednesday said.

In a post on the Official Gazette Twitter account, the DOH said as of 12 noon on Wednesday, only 43 passengers have yet to be contacted.


In Malacañang, Presidential Communications Operations Office head Herminio Coloma Jr. said 221 passengers of the flight have tested negative for the same virus.

But despite the "high encouraging results," Coloma called on the public to "remain vigilant, and to heed preventive measures and quarantine procedures of our health authorities."

He said travelers returning from the Middle East are advised to fill out the quarantine forms and provide detailed contact information to allow subsequent tracing if needed.

Coloma also said those who become ill within two weeks upon arrival are "strongly advised" to seek immediate medical attention and to delay visits to crowded places.

The DOH is now conducting an intensive search for people who may have had contact with the male nurse, who was initially diagnosed with the virus but was later on cleared along with other passengers.

On the other hand, in an interview with reporters, Health Assistant Secretary Paulyn Ubial said while the contacted passengers have already been tested, results have yet to be released.

She added that the search for the remaining passengers is ongoing.

"Kinukuha na ang lahat ng records nila, SSS [Social Security System]..." she said.
 
On Tuesday, President Benigno Aquino III told the DOH that all passengers of Etihad Airlines flight EY 0424 which landed in Manila on April 15, 2014 should be contacted “within today, Tuesday,” a senior health official said.

Dr. Lyndon Lee Suy, spokesman of the DOH-led Task Force MERS-CoV, earlier told a news briefing that President Aquino “does not want to be caught unaware that there is one case of MERS-CoV in the country.”

The Etihad flight had carried the 45-year-old Filipino male nurse, who initially tested positive for the MERS virus, along with 414 other passengers, the DOH said. Two further tests done by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine later found him negative for the virus.

The nurse underwent laboratory exams in the United Arab Emirates after getting exposed to the Filipino paramedic who died from MERS there two weeks ago, but did not wait for the results to come out before he left for Manila. The DOH decided to quarantine him and his family upon arrival in the country, but they have all been released after the negative results came out.

Ubial said that to date, the Philippines remains "MERS-CoV-free." —with Kimberly Jane Tan/RSJ/KBK, GMA News 
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