Companion of first nCoV patient in Philippines also at San Lazaro —DOH

The companion of the 38-year-old woman who tested positive for novel coronavirus is also among the 31 persons under investigation (PUI) in the Philippines, according to Health Undersecretary Eric Domingo on Friday.

"She was a tourist and she was travelling with a companion. 'Yung companion is also admitted as a person under investigation, also in the same facility and we are awaiting results for that patient," Domingo said in a press briefing.

The pending results of the confirmatory test from an Australian laboratory will determine if the companion of the novel coronavirus-positive patient also got infected.

Both are currently admitted at San Lazaro Hospital in Manila.

On Thursday, the Department of Health (DOH) confirmed that a PUI from China's Wuhan City is the first case of novel coronavirus in the Philippines.

Contact tracing is ongoing to monitor the health condition of other persons who had been exposed to the infected tourist.

The new strain of coronavirus was first detected in Wuhan City last December. To date, the virus killed over 200 and infected more than 10,000 as it reached 18 other countries.

The World Health Organization (WHO) already declared the outbreak a global emergency. —KBK, GMA News