A 60-year-old female Chinese national who arrived in Cebu City from Wuhan, China via Hong Kong was confirmed as the third case of novel coronavirus (nCoV) infection in the Philippines.
Department of Health (DoH) Undersecretary Eric Domingo said the Chinese national arrived in the country last January 20 and went straight to Bohol.
On January 22, the Chinese national contracted fever and colds and went to a private hospital in Bohol.
She was negative for nCov in her samples taken on January 24. The tests were conducted both by an Australian laboratory and the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM)
However, RITM subsequently tested a sample taken earlier on January 23, and the result showed she was positive for nCoV.
Domingo said the clinical explanation for the two different test results is that the woman was towards the end of illness at the time when the samples were taken.The Chinese woman was already released from the hospital and since returned to China.
As of 12 noon on Wednesday, the DoH recorded 133 suspected cases of novel coronavirus infection. Some 115 patients were admitted at hospitals while the remaining16 others were discharged.