MANILA – Two of the five Filipinos from a Japanese cruise ship quarantined in Tarlac province tested negative from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) despite showing symptoms, according to the Department of Health (DOH).
The two were cleared while still awaiting the test results of the three other Filipino repatriates who have cough and cold, said Assistant Secretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.
The five Filipino crew members were all from the Diamond Princess cruise ship where over 700 passengers and staff tested positive for COVID-19 during their mandatory 14-day quarantine in the vessel.
The three, along with 455 others, were brought home from Japan to New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac on Tuesday evening to undergo another quarantine.
“All Filipinos under quarantine are monitored twice a day to see if any of them would develop flu-like symptoms. Once any of them would exhibit signs and symptoms, they would be immediately referred to designated hospitals,” Vergeire said.
Seventy Filipino crew members of the Diamond Princess who tested positive for the coronavirus remain admitted in hospitals in Tokyo, Japan while 10 have recovered and were discharged.
Meanwhile, DOH secretary Francisco Duque III said there is a possibility that the Philippines will also impose travel restrictions to Japan with the increasing number of coronavirus cases there.
The Philippines has an existing travel ban on China and its special administrative regions Hong Kong and Macau. It also recently imposed a partial travel ban on South Korea./PN