The Philippine National Police has reached out to 91 domestic flight co-passengers of the Chinese couple who had tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group deputy chief for operations Police Col. Rhoderick Armamento said they have reached out to 91 out of the total 193 passengers of the Jan. 21 Cebu City-Dumaguete City flight of Cebu Pacific and the Jan. 25 Dumaguete-Manila flight of Philippine Airlines as of 6 a.m. yesterday.
The PNP-CIDG had contacted 48 as of last Thursday.
“Actually, matatapos na ito, almost done na kami,” Armamento declared.
Armamento disclosed that one of the six passengers who was reported to be manifesting symptoms of nCoV has been cleared.
“They found out na may history lang ng asthma so nirule out nila na hindi ito involved,” he said, adding that they are accompanied by Department of Health epidemiology surveillance teams in checking the passengers. The condition of the five remaining passengers was not disclosed.
Armamento had earlier said six Filipino co-passengers of the Chinese couple showed symptoms of the coronavirus.
The PNP, he said, is still challenged by individuals who ignore or refuse to answer their calls, or those who did not give contact numbers. He appealed to them to cooperate with authorities to prevent the virus from further spreading.
Armamento said they would seek the Bureau of Immigration’s help in contacting them.
But overall, he said, passengers have been “very accommodating, and have appreciated their efforts and said they are all okay.”
The CIDG has been tasked to locate the co-passengers of the Chinese couple in domestic flights, while the Department of Health was assigned to international flights boarded by the two.
They have been given 48 hours, starting Wednesday, to trace all of them. (Vanne Terrazola)
