By Rizal Obanil Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo said on Sunday that all 82 persons who were in contact with the Chinese couple who tested positive for the 2019 novel coronavirus acute respiratory disease (2019-nCoV ARD) have been traced. Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo (Negros Oriental LGU Facebook) In an interview over Dobol B sa News TV, Degamo said that of those who were traced because of their proximity and possible contact with the Chinese couple, eight were identified as persons under investigation (PUI). Four of those PUIs however already tested negative for nCoV ARD infection on the first test. “Lahat nate-trace na namin. A total of 82 na mayroong hinihinalang contact doon sa dalawang Chinese na nagpunta dito sa amin,” Degamo was quoted by Dobol B News TV as saying. (All of them have been traced. A total of 82 were suspected to have had contact with the Chinese couple who went here to our place.) It can be recalled that although initially it was the 38-year-old Chinese female visitor who tested positive for nCoV infection, health authorities said that she eventually recovered from her symptoms and is seemingly on her way to full recovery. Her companion, the 44-year-old Chinese male visitor, however died on February 2, 2020, becoming the first fatality of nCoV ARD in the country and the first outside China. “Both patients are from Wuhan, China and arrived in the Philippines via Hong Kong last January 21, 2020. The second confirmed case was admitted for pneumonia last January 25, 2020 after experiencing fever, cough, and sore throat,” said Duque in a previous interview. The government has been tracing all the passengers of the flight that brought in the Chinese couple in an effort to stop the possible spread of the virus. (With a report from Analou De Vera)