COVID-2019 PUI: Couple Under Quarantine After travelling from Wuhan
A Belgian guy and his Filipino wife were picked up and placed under quarantine after arriving in the province last Sunday, February 16, 2020. They were travelling from Wuhan, China before travelling to several islands in the Philippines. The Belgian national has been showing symptoms of the Coronavirus Acute Respiratory Disease or COVID-2019, hence, the immediate action of placing him as a PUI (person under investigation).
Another Couple with COVID-2019
According to the man, they had earlier left Wuhan for Taiwan and then to Manila on January 31. The following day, they flew to Bohol where they stayed for nine days. On Feb. 10, they took a boat from Bohol to Siquijor and stayed there for five days before proceeding to Dumaguete on Sunday. They had undertaken the required 14 Days Quarantine in the other destinations they have visited since last January 31. It is still safe to investigate him, especially that he is now showing symptoms of the virus. The Belgian and his Filipino wife were not the first couple to have been under quarantine in the province of Negros Oriental.
First case of Coronavirus in Dumaguete City
The first confirmed case of the coronavirus from Dumaguete City was a Chinese couple who visited the last week of January. They flew from Hong Kong to Cebu City. After that they went from Cebu City to Dumaguete, before arriving in Manila. Upon arriving in Manila, the female was confirmed to have the virus. Her partner, on the other hand, was not diagnosed with any symptoms. However, he died a few days after they arrived in Manila. Since then, the number of PUI (people under investigation) has increased. Although some of them are being discharged and marked as negative for the virus, more has taken their place and are now under quarantine.
The suspicious thing about the couple is that they came to the Philippines despite the travel ban from Wuhan, China. This bant has taken effect since the outbreak of the novel disease that has killed more than 1,000 people, mostly Chinese, and infected thousands more.
What is COVID-2019?
The new official name of the virus is COVID-2019 was announced by the World Health Organization last week. It was formerly known as the Novel Coronavirus 2019 (nCoV). It is a type of virus that is usually present in animals and can spread to humans. The outbreak if the virus started after several cases of pneumonia were recorded in Wuhan last December 2019. Since then, several cases have been reported in many countries all over the world; mostly in Asia.
