Aklan, Philippines – The Provincial Health Office (PHO) in Kalibo is currently on red alert status as three Chinese nationals were reportedly quarantined after they were suspected of having contracted the new SARS-like pneumonia virus.
The three were admitted at the Dr. Rafael S. Tumbukon Memorial Hospital (DRSMTH).
Aklan PHO’s Dr. Cornelio Cuahon said that first to be put under hospital quarantine was a 29-year-old Chinese national on January 17.
The second was a three-year-old girl on January 18, while the third was a 65-year-old who was tagged after landing at Kalibo airport this Monday.
The Bureau of Quarantine stationed at the Kalibo International Airport (KLO) reportedly spotted the three Chinese nationals as they arrived from different provinces of China.
The KLO has direct flights coming from different parts of China.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said the virus belongs to the same family of coronaviruses like the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) which have killed nearly 800 people worldwide in the 2002 outbreak that also started in China.
This prompted the WHO and health leaders to step up efforts to contain the new-found virus which reportedly emerged in Wuhan province in December 2019.
Authorities are concerned that the virus might spread to other countries as Chinese citizens tend to travel domestically and abroad as they celebrate the Lunar New Year break which will begin next week. /mbmf
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