Bong Go: Philippines' first novel coronavirus case confined at San Lazaro

The Philippines' first case of novel coronavirus infection has been confined at the San Lazaro Hospital, Senator Bong Go said on Thursday night.

The chairman of the Senate Committee on Health said he had talked with Health Secretary Francisco Duque as regards the condition of the 38-year-old woman from Wuhan, China.

"Kani-kanina lamang ay nakausap ko si Sec. Francisco Duque III. Ngayon po ay nasa San Lazaro hospital daw itong pasyente," Go said.

"Contained naman ito at pinapangalagaan ito ng ating health officials at doctors. Nasa 14 day period of quarantine ang patient at ginagamot na siya. Importante ay hindi ito makahawa ng iba," he added.

According to a report on "State of the Nation with Jessica Soho",  the country's first confirmed case of novel coronavirus infection was on flights of both Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific.

The patient is from Wuhan, China, the ground zero of the novel coronavirus.

Cebu Pacific, PAL flights

Health Undersecretary Eric Domingo said the patient flew into Cebu from Hong Kong on board a Cebu Pacific flight.

The patient was also on a Cebu Pacific flight from Cebu to Dumaguete.

She then flew to Manila on a PAL flight from Dumaguete.

The Department of Health is continuing its contact tracing or the process of identifying the persons with whom the patient came into contact.

In a press briefing on Thursday afternoon, Duque said the Chinese woman arrived in the Philippines on January 21.

On January 25, she was admitted to one of the country's government hospitals after experiencing a mild cough.

The woman is asymptomatic, meaning she does not display symptoms suggesting the illness, according to Duque.

According to Duque, there are currently 29 persons under investigation for possible nCoV infection nationwide;  23 are still admitted while five have been released but are under strict monitoring.

Meanwhile, one person under investigation has died at the San Lazaro Hospital.

As of Thursday, the death toll in China due to the virus has increased to 170 while more than 7,700 infections have been confirmed. —NB, GMA News