At a press briefing on the current Covid-19 outbreak situation in the Philippines, DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III said the 4th and 5th Covid-19 cases are from 48-year-old male Filipino with a travel history from Japan and 62-year-old male Filipino from San Juan City who does not have a travel history but frequents a Muslim prayer hall and has hypertension and diabetes.
Contact tracing is being done for the two cases and samples have already been collected from close contacts. DOH is also in close coordination with the concerned local government units for concerted action on identifying persons who had interaction with the confirmed cases and strengthening of infection prevention and control protocols.
“These recent developments are significant, but we are prepared to respond to its potential consequences. Our priority is to protect our health workers and the most vulnerable populations,” Duque said.
“We can still contain the spread of the virus in the country, which is why we are encouraging the public to practice proper handwashing, social distancing, and cough etiquette. We call on the public to be vigilant and continue doing their part in containing the disease,” he added.
Prior to the announcement, the Philippines had three Covid-19 cases who were all tourists from China. Two of which have recovered while one died.
As of March 6, there are a total of 41 patients under investigation (PUIs) in the country, 5 of which are in Central Luzon, and a total of 634 discharged PUIs.
