NBI ready to support DOH in tracing persons who came in contact with nCoV cases

The NBI is ready to support the Department of Health (DOH) in tracing persons who interacted with the two Chinese nationals considered to be the Philippines' first confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus.

"The DOH says they can still handle the contract tracing but the NBI will be on standby to support," Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Tuesday.

He said the NBI, an attached agency of the Department of Justice, has not yet been called to act in relation to the virus outbreak, but the Bureau of Immigration was instructed to strictly implement the temporary ban on travelers from China, Hong Kong, and Macau until further orders.

The Philippines' first confirmed patient affected by the novel coronavirus was a 38-year-old woman from Wuhan, China — the epicenter of the outbreak that has killed 425 people in China as of Tuesday morning.

The woman's companion — a 44-year-old man — also tested positive for the virus and died Saturday in what is the first 2019-nCoV death outside of China.

Of the 70 persons the DOH found to have been in contact with the two Chinese nationals, eight have coughs and colds, a health official said Monday.

President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered a temporary ban on travelers from China and its special administrative regions, Hong Kong and Macau, amid the virus threat.

Airlines have also suspended flights between China and the Philippines. —KG, GMA News