By Tara Yap
Iloilo City—Amidst the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) scare, three Chinese children who underwent medical observation at a hospital in Aklan province have been released.
Dr. Cornelio Cuachon Jr
Dr. Cornelio Cuachon Jr., chief of the Aklan Provincial Health Office, confirmed the three Chinese visitors were discharged from the hospital in Kalibo town on Tuesday.
Cuachon told Manila Bulletin in a phone interview the three are now staying at a local hotel and their families are trying to book a flight back to China.
According to Cuachon, one of the three children is a six-year-old girl from Wuhan, the Chinese city that is the epicenter for 2019-nCoV.
When she and her family arrived at Kalibo International Airport last week, she felt fine, but then ran a fever and was coughing when they were vacationing on Boracay island.
She was then sent to the Dr. Rafael S. Tumbucon Memorial Hospital in Kalibo for observation. Cuachon said the girl was treated for sore throat.
The other two children are siblings from Shanghai, a five-year-old girl and an eight-year-old boy. They were referred straight to the hospital from the airport when they arrived due to flu-like symptoms, but they felt fine later.
“Now, the children and their families have to look for a flight back to China,” Cuachon said.
Meanwhile, blood samples were collected from the three children and sent to the Department of Health’s Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in Metro Manila.
Dr. Cornelio Cuachon Jr
Dr. Cornelio Cuachon Jr., chief of the Aklan Provincial Health Office, confirmed the three Chinese visitors were discharged from the hospital in Kalibo town on Tuesday.
Cuachon told Manila Bulletin in a phone interview the three are now staying at a local hotel and their families are trying to book a flight back to China.
According to Cuachon, one of the three children is a six-year-old girl from Wuhan, the Chinese city that is the epicenter for 2019-nCoV.
When she and her family arrived at Kalibo International Airport last week, she felt fine, but then ran a fever and was coughing when they were vacationing on Boracay island.
She was then sent to the Dr. Rafael S. Tumbucon Memorial Hospital in Kalibo for observation. Cuachon said the girl was treated for sore throat.
The other two children are siblings from Shanghai, a five-year-old girl and an eight-year-old boy. They were referred straight to the hospital from the airport when they arrived due to flu-like symptoms, but they felt fine later.
“Now, the children and their families have to look for a flight back to China,” Cuachon said.
Meanwhile, blood samples were collected from the three children and sent to the Department of Health’s Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in Metro Manila.