None of 150 Pinoys in Wuhan infected by 2019-nCoV

FILE: A doctor in a protective bunny suit sees a patient in a Wuhan hospital. (Photo By China News Service／中国新闻网, CC BY 3.0)

MANILA — None of the 150 Filipinos in Wuhan has been infected by the 2019 novel coronavirus that already killed at least 40 people in China, the Philippine Embassy in Beijing confirmed.

“(There’s) no report of any Filipino in Wuhan infected by the novel coronavirus thus far. But they are advised to stay indoors and avoid contact with an infected person,” Philippine Ambassador Jose Santiago Sta. Romana said in a text message on Sunday night.

Data from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said there are at least 150 Filipino nationals in Wuhan, the ground-zero of the 2019-nCoV, which has been placed on lockdown in an attempt to contain the outbreak’s spread.

In a separate advisory, the DFA advised Filipinos to take necessary precautions and follow the advice from local health authorities in their areas.

As Wuhan is on lockdown, the Philippine Consulate in Shanghai has requested Filipino community leaders to provide them assistance, especially to tourists or those on short-time visits as it monitors the outbreak.

The Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong also issued an advisory urging Filipinos in the territory to cooperate with the Hong Kong government, as it raised its response level to the highest “Emergency Response Level”.

Filipinos who will require assistance from the Consulate may be reached through its hotline at (+852) 9155 4023.

In Manila, the DFA is scheduled to conduct an emergency meeting on Monday, January 27 to discuss strategies to properly respond to the health emergency.

As of January 25, the World Health Organization said there is a total of 1,320 confirmed cases for the virus, globally, of which 1,297 cases were from China, including Hong Kong with five, Macau with two, and Taiwan with three.

Meanwhile, 23 people were reportedly infected in nine other countries, namely Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, Australia, Thailand, Nepal, the United States, and France.