By BOY RYAN B. ZABAL
KALIBO, Aklan — Provincial Health Office (PHO) chief Dr. Cornelio Cuachon Jr. assured the public that Aklan remains free from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus (MERS-CoV).
A 31-year old Aklanon cook from Saudi Arabia was a co-passenger of a Filipina nurse, suspected to have contracted the virus, onboard a Saudi Arabian Airlines flight from Dammam, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Manila on Aug. 29.
The cook tested negative, the PHO said.
Provincial health officials reached the overseas Filipino worker on Sept. 4, Cuachon said.
He was admitted in the Aklan provincial hospital for testing and monitoring. Doctors cleared him the following day.
“Sa makaron owa gid it ika-alarma dahil MERS-CoV-free pa gihapon kita,” stressed Cuachon.
The Filipina nurse, who was from General Santos City, was initially diagnosed with MERS-CoV infection in Saudia Arabia.
She yielded negative results after the confirmatory tests conducted by the Philippines’ Research Institute for Tropical Medicine.
MERS-CoV is a highly fatal respiratory illness characterized by cough and fever, often accompanied by diarrhea.
It can be transmitted through direct contact, the Department of Health said in an advisory. (Aklan Forum Journal/PN)
