Amid new coronavirus: Palace tells Filipinos in China to follow precautionary measures

January 26, 2020

Malacanang on Sunday reminded Filipinos currently in areas in China affected by the novel coronavirus to follow whatever precautionary measures being implemented there.

Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo made the statement after China recorded 56 deaths due to the virus and the number of people infected across the country is nearing 2,000.

“We advise them to follow any precautionary measures being taken by the local authorities so that they will not be sick. At the same time, they should also do what a person does when there is a disease spreading in a certain place,” Panelo said.

He said there is still no plan to repatriate Filipinos in China.

“We have not received any order from the President (Rodrigo Duterte) yet,” he said.

Panelo also assured the public that the Department of Health (DOH) is already making protocols to prevent the virus from spreading after some foreigners showed symptoms while taking a vacation in the country.

He added tourists who went to Boracay will be returned to Wuhan City.

“Secretary (Francisco) Duque III has a lot of measures, I just don’t know the specific steps. But definitely we will be undertaking measures to prevent the spread as well as to secure the health and safety of our countrymen,” the presidential spokesperson said.

On Saturday, police said a Brazilian family is being kept for isolation in a hospital in Palawan due to suspicions that one of the children has the novel coronavirus.

This is the second case after the five-year-old Chinese boy admitted at a Cebu City hospital.

But according to DOH, there remains no confirmed case of the 2019-nCoV in the country as they have yet to get the results of the laboratory test of the samples from the suspected carriers. Ella Dionisio/DMS