OFW rushed to RITM tests negative for MERS-CoV

Department of Health Spokesperson Usec. Eric Domingo on Wednesday said that the male overseas working Filipino who was suspected of having Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) tested negative to the infection.

“The patient tested negative,” Domingo told GMA News Online in a text message.

The 47-year-old patient who came from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia was instead diagnosed with pneumonia.

“The patient will be treated at the RITM (Research Institute for Tropical Medicine),” Domingo added.

The male OFW was earlier transferred from the Laguna Doctors Hospital to the RITM in Muntinlupa after being suspected of having MERSCoV infection.

He returned to the Philippines on February 14, already nursing flu-like symptoms for two weeks.

The hospital where he was admitted conducted a quarantine as part of the infection control protocol. —NB, GMA News