21 nCov cases probed in Northern, Central Luzon

 Patient from La Trinidad, Benguet confined in Baguio 

By Mar T. Supnad, Liza Galao, Zedrick John Macario, PNA

THE DEPT. OF HEALTH has reported 21 nCov patients under investigation (PUI) cases in Northern and Central Luzon -- one in Cordillera Administrative Region, one in Cagayan Valley, three in Ilocos Region and 16 in Central Luzon.

Sources said one PUI patient is confined at a health facility in Baguio.

The patient is reportedly from Poblacion, La Trinidad, Benguet who travelled to Hongkong. 

The Benguet provincial government urged its residents to be calm and abide by health guidelines as it records its first-person under investigation (PUI) for possible 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).

Gov. Melchor Diclas on Wednesday advised residents the best way not to contract the disease is to stay physically healthy and always follow the coughing or sneezing etiquette and proper handwashing.

He said a resident, together with a companion visited Hong Kong, is now showing signs of influenza-like symptoms.

The person has been under hospital quarantine while being provided with medical assistance, Diclas, a doctor said.

Specimen samples from the person have been taken and brought to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) for testing for the presence of the 2019-nCoV virus.

Diclas said Benguet towns have a cold climate which makes people more susceptible to illnesses.

"Make yourselves warm even when going to the farm to tend to your vegetable plants," he said.

Diclas also activated the local nCoV interagency task force and called for an emergency meeting with different agencies, including village officials for instructions and plans.

"The village officials would know who went where and their condition and it is important that the residents immediately report if there are travels and are showing signs of the illness," he said.

Dr. Nora Ruiz, a provincial health officer, said aside from a PUI, three others are being monitored for possible nCoV infection.

Dr. Amelita Pangilinan, Regional Director of the Department of Health in the Cordillera Administrative Region in a press briefing on Thursday said the public can follow acronym P.O.W.E.R, which stands for Practice cough and sneezing etiquette; Obtain information from verified sources; Wash hands frequently; Eat nutritious food, and Refrain from going to crowded places.

Meanwhile, the town of Atok, Benguet which is getting a high number of tourists for its flower gardens, has suspended tourism activities effective Feb. 6.

Mayor Raymundo Sarac issued an executive order as a preventive measure for the possible spread of the nCoV and other viruses.

Atok town, a high elevation town where frosting of plants happens is known as the producer of top quality flowers that are brought to places in the country.

Several farms have converted as eco-agri-tourism destinations providing a different experience with fresh colorful flowers.

Aside from the creation of the provincial nCoV inter-agency task force, towns have also formed the local counterparts.

Atok, Kibungan and the capital town La Trinidad and others have respectively issued executive orders creating the task forces.

"This is to assure that we know what we are doing if a case is recorded," Sarac said.

Residents have become weary due to report that there are five cases of nCoV in the province, which officials disputed and asked the public to stop spreading false information. 

The DOH Ilocos Region meanwhile said Tuesday there is still no confirmed case of 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019 nCoV) in the region.

In an interview with newsmen, DOH-1 regional director Valeriano Lopez said as of the morning of Feb. 4, there was no truth on circulating news on social media of certain confirmed cases in the region.

However, he said three individuals from China have been admitted in a government hospital in the region and were classified as PUI.

 He said the patients submitted themselves to the hospital on Jan. 26 for having some of the symptoms of nCov which are colds and fever. They were immediately isolated upon initial checkup.

 “Since their admission, these PUIs have been getting better and over the course of their admission, they have been showing signs of improvement on their health,” the regional director said.

 He added,” I would like to reiterate that strict infection control measures and isolation standards are being implemented in the health facility where they are admitted.”

 He said they are waiting confirmatory test from the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) whether these patients are positive or negative for the 2019-nCoV.

In Tarlac, authorities confirmed that there are suspected cases of nCoV in arlac now.

Earlier on Jan. 30, the DOH confirmed the first case of coronavirus in the Philippines.

The patient is a Chinese woman who came from Wuhan. The 38-year-old woman flew to Phl from Hong Kong together with a companion.

Last Feb. 2, the DOH confirmed that the companion of the Chinese woman, a Chinese man aging 44 years old, died of coronavirus. It was the first nCoV death case outside China.

Reports said there are now six suspected coronavirus cases in Tarlac.

The suspected coronavirus cases in Tarlac reportedly includes Americans, Japanese, and Filipinos who have visited Hong Kong last January 10 to 22. They were admitted at Jecson’s Medical Center.

Based on the report, the patients were admitted at the dormant Station 1 of the hospital through Dr. Jose Chua Jr.

The DOH-RESU personnel were already informed so their specimens can be taken for checking.

Tarlac City Mayor Cristy Angeles has also ordered all the hospitals to report to her the suspected nCoV cases.

At press time, the DOH said there was a total of 105 reported 2019-nCov (PUI) cases nationwide.

There is no known cure for the novel coronavirus acute respiratory disease (2019-nCoV ARD), Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said on Tuesday.

“There’s no vaccine to prevent the 2019-nCoV because it is a new strain. There’s no specific treatment except supportive care,” Duque said in his speech at the joint hearing of the Senate Committees on Health and Demography and Finance on the government’s preparedness on the global public health threat.

According to the World Health Organization, Chinese authorities identified on Jan. 7 the 2019-nCoV as belonging to a family of common colds viruses and the more serious ones —severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS).

Most people get infected with coronaviruses with symptoms ranging from typically mild to moderate, and it can cause lower-respiratory tract illnesses like pneumonia and bronchitis in some cases.

Such viruses are common among animals but can evolve and spread from animals to humans.

Earlier, Duque defined the improvement of a 71-year-old Chinese woman infected with the 2019-nCoV after taking a cocktail of anti-virals for treating flu and HIV as “anecdotal because 80 percent of cases in China are considered mild”.

“So the possibility that they are recovering very quickly is very high, 21 percent is severe so baka ‘yung nakuhang pasiyente ay nandoon sa mild, kaya siguro nagpapakita ng (the patient might be under the mild category that’s why she’s showing) signs of recovery concomitantly with the combination therapy,” Duque said.

He added that there is “no hard science” to prove such anecdote or theory.

In its health advisories, the DOH said proper handwashing, observance of proper cough etiquette, avoiding contact with animals, avoiding large crowds, drinking plenty of water, proper cooking of food, and consultation with a health facility if symptoms of cough and colds persist, are the public’s best defense against the virus.

Dept. of Education Secretary Leonor Briones said they will help the DOH disseminate correct information on the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).

 “Let us not add to the panic, add on the dramatic stories, we take seriously what the DOH advises us to do,” Briones said in a press conference on the sidelines of the launching of the DepEd-Cordillera Administrative Region’s “Read to Lead” program.

She noted that there has been much misinformation coming from on social media regarding the nCoV concern so they have advised school officials to be guided by the DOH guidelines, especially on school lockdown.

Reacting to the first confirmed nCoV case in the country, Briones said they will coordinate with the regions where the 38-year-old Chinese woman, who was tested positive for the new coronavirus, had gone before being quarantined and treated at a hospital in Manila.

She, however, said they have yet to decide on whether to postpone the activities of the schools since this would only add concern and panic to the public.