Baguio City – City health authorities disclosed that the three Chinese students who sought medical attention from a private hospital for allegedly having contracted the dreaded 2019 Novel Coronavirus (nCoV) turned out to be free from the said illness as they did not possess the conditions of the infectious diseases.
City Health Officer Dr. Rowena P. Galpo explained that the 3 Chinese students who are studying in a La Trinidad-based language school complained of alleged difficulty in breathing and might have contracted nCoV but considering that they did not possess the initial conditions of a nCoV-infected individual, they were given a clean bill of health and were allowed to go back to their studies.
She disclosed the initial symptoms of the illness include fever, lower respiratory infection, cough, among others, that will manifest 10 to 14 days after close contact with an infected person.
Galpo narrated that based on the revelations of the Chinese students, one of them had been suffering from difficulty in breathing while his two other companions who just arrived from China sought medical attention from a Baguio-based private hospital for similar complaints but that it was found that these symptoms are outside those observed of the seventh strain of the coronavirus.
“We must continue to keep ourselves healthy by ensuring our immune system is strong enough to combat whatever virus that we are exposed to,” Galpo stressed.
The medical officer urged the public not to be alarmed over the discovery of the new strain of the coronavirus because no less than the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the nCoV is not yet a public health concern while the Department of Health (DOH) earlier declared there are no nCoV cases recorded in the country since the issue cropped up globally.
According to her, the illness can be transmitted from animals, which had been identified as its primary source, to humans, but studies are still being done on what mode of transmission can facilitate the spread of the virus as there are no medicines yet found to cure infected persons although the said illness is said to be curable provided that it will be detected early.
Galpo claimed it is not yet advisable for people to wear masks to spare them from contracting the said illness as there are no reported nCoV cases in the city, but what is important for the people to keep themselves healthy at all times.
She advised people who experience the initial symptoms of the virus to immediately seek medical attention from the nearest health facility for health experts to assess their condition and prescribe the appropriate medication.
By Dexter A. See
Photo from Alpha Stock Images – http://alphastockimages.com/
