Everyone on the flight reportedly boarded by the family of the first Wuhan coronavirus case in Hong Kong were screened by the Bureau of Quarantine in Manila but none of them were flagged, according to airline Cebu Pacific.
READ: DOH monitoring at least 12 people who had contact with Wuhan Coronavirus-positive boy in Cebu City
Hong Kong-based newspaper South China Morning Post first reported that four family members of the 39-year-old man from Wuhan — a Chinese city which is at the center of a new strain of coronavirus (2019-nCoV) — flew to Manila from Hong Kong onboard Cebu Pacific flight 5J111 on Wednesday. They arrived at 1:32 p.m. at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3.
Charo Lagamon, Cebu Pacific's corporate communications director, said all passengers and crew on board that flight "were screened by the Bureau of Quarantine upon arrival in Manila but none of them were held for further observation."
"Nonetheless, we are trying to coordinate with Hong Kong authorities to verify information in media reports," she added.
In a separate statement, the airline assured that they are “closely monitoring the spread of the Wuhan virus, and have precautionary measures in place for our flights to and from China.”
The Bureau of Quarantine has been ordered to be stricter in monitoring travelers coming to the Philippines amid the outbreak of the infection caused by new, novel or Wuhan coronavirus.
SCMP said the man was found to have a runny nose and a fever upon his arrival to West Kowloon, where he was intercepted. Dr. Constance Chan Hon-yee, Hong Kong's director of health said in an interview Wednesday that the man from Wuhan tested positive for the novel coronavirus and was confined at the Princess Margaret hospital.
READ: British tourist feared to be first Western victim of deadly new Wuhan coronavirus
Hon-yee also said that her colleagues notified the airline and the Philippine government of the matter.
His other family members, whom he had stayed with at Empire Hotel Kowloon in Tsim Sha Tsui, were allowed through because they were not showing any symptoms, SCMP reported.
“His relatives are actually not cases. They are close contact of this now preliminary-positive result patient,” said Constance Chan, director of Hong Kong’s Department of Health said in a press briefing Wednesday night.
“So what we are doing, we are following international practice, we will inform the Philippines authority so that they will do the necessary control measures on their side,” Chan added.
The Philippines’ Department of Health is still waiting for results from Australia for tests ran on a blood sample and a throat swab from a five-year-old boy from Wuhan who also exhibited flu-like symptoms symptoms upon arrival in Cebu City.
The boy, who tested positive for a type of coronavirus which is not SARS or MERS, is still currently under observation, along with his mother, who has not exhibited symptoms of infection.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said, however, that it is possible that the boy may not have contracted 2019-nCoV.
Officials in China are racing to contain the outbreak of the novel coronavirus that has left at least 17 people dead and sickened nearly 500, CNN reported. To stop the virus from spreading, Wuhan's airport and railway stations will be “temporarily closed” for departing passengers, CNN said Wednesday, citing an announcement from the city's coronavirus command center. They take effect at 10 a.m. local time Thursday, it added.
The World Health Organization said there are confirmed cases of 2019-nCoV in Thailand, Japan and South Korea, Health authorities in the United States also reported Tuesday the country's first confirmed novel coronavirus case.
CNN reported cases were also confirmed in the Chinese territory of Macao and the self-governing island of Taiwan.
The W.H.O. said confirmed cases of 2019-nCoV have also been reported in Thailand, Japan and South Korea.
Common symptoms of the 2019-nCoV include fever, cough and colds, breathing difficulties, shortness of breath. In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and even death.
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to more serious diseases such as such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV), according to the World Health Organization. They can be transmitted from animal to person or infected human to others, according to the WHO.
Health experts also urged people to practice good hygiene, as it could help them stay healthy and free from sickness.
-wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds
-avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands
READ: China confirms new coronavirus can spread between human-to-human transmission
-avoid close contact with people who show respiratory illness symptoms (ex. coughing and sneezing)
-thoroughly cook meat and eggs
-cover your mouth and nose with tissue when you cough or sneeze, then wash your hands
-clean and disinfect objects and surfaces
-seek medical attention if you have flu-like symptoms (especially if you have travelled from Wuhan, China)
CNN Philippines’ Xave Gregorio and Currie Cator contributed to this report.
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This article first appeared on CNN Philippines.
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