MANILA – Another Filipino was confirmed to have contracted the 2019 novel coronavirus acute respiratory disease (2019-nCoV ARD) in the United Arab Emirates, its state news agency said in a report on Saturday.
The Emirates News Agency reported that a Filipino and a Chinese national were confirmed to have contracted the disease, bringing the total number of infected individuals in the UAE to seven.
The new novel coronavirus cases in UAE, which were identified through periodic screening of people showing symptoms of the disease, are “under observation” and are being given “necessary medical care according to the highest health standards applicable in the country.”
The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention said all its health facilities would continue reporting suspected new cases of the virus, which has been spreading from China since last month.
The Filipino from UAE was the second Filipino to have contracted the new coronavirus outside of the country after a Filipino onboard a cruise ship in Japan also tested positive to the disease.
In the Philippines, there were three confirmed cases of 2019 nCoV ARD, all of them Chinese national from Wuhan, China. One of them died earlier this month at the San Lazaro Hospital in Manila.
As of Saturday, the novel coronavirus has killed more than 700 people, mostly in China, and infected nearly 35,000. Several countries have enforced restrictions on travel to and from China to contain the disease./PN
