Philippines coronavirus patient has recovered, authorities say. “Coronavirus is not uniformly fatal and recovery is more likely than dying from the disease"
The first case of
novel coronavirus in
the Philippines –
a Chinese tourist from Wuhan who had been travelling with a man who died of the
virus – is no longer showing symptoms and may be discharged soon. The last test on the
38-year-old woman, conducted on 6 February, showed she was negative for the
virus, according to the health department. Two consecutive negative tests are
required before a patient may be discharged.
“This shows the novel
coronavirus is not uniformly fatal and that recovery is more likely than dying
from the disease,” said Dr Edsel Salvana, director of the University of the
Philippines’ Institute of Molecular Biology. “Please don’t panic and don’t
share fake news.”
Salvana has been
active on social media leading efforts to fight misinformation about the
outbreak. The government is also
managing public concerns over the return of 30 Filipinos, including an infant,
from Hubei province in China. They arrived on a chartered plane early on Sunday
and were brought to an isolated facility near Manila to begin a 14-day
quarantine.
The first case was the
“travelling companion” – reported to be the girlfriend – of the 44-year old
Wuhan man who died from the virus on 1 February. It is the first and only death
from coronavirus outside China and Hong Kong. The Philippines reported
three cases. The third, a 60-year-old woman also from Wuhan, was belatedly
confirmed after she had left the country. The health department said she
appeared to have recovered from the coronavirus. She was discharged after
samples sent to Australia tested negative. But a belated test of an earlier
sample, conducted after the country acquired capability for local testing, was
positive. There is no known
transmission in the country but more than 200 cases are being monitored for
possible exposure to those that have been confirmed...
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/09/philippines-coronavirus-sufferer-has-recovered-authorities-saysee also
