Guevarra: BI, NBI ready to help track down foreigners who might have nCov
By Jeffrey Damicog
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) are ready to track down foreigners who entered the country and are suspected to have been infected with the 2019 novel coronavirus (nCov) strain.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra (Screenshot / RTVM / PCOO / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra made the assurance on Thursday (Jan. 23), amid reports that the Hong Kong Ministry of Health confirmed that the family of a Chinese national who tested positive for the infectious virus managed to enter the Philippines.
“I’m sure that the DOH (Department of Health) Bureau of Quarantine has taken steps to restrict the movements of this family from Wuhan,” Guevarra told reporters. “But should the DOH need our help, I will direct the BI and NBI to track down the whereabouts of these Chinese nationals and find the people they have interacted with in our country.”
In the meantime, Guevarra said the BI already took the initiative to look for the Chinese family. “BI has informed me that they are now identifying this family from Wuhan and tracking their whereabouts in the country.”
The Chinese man was the first confirmed case of 2019 nCoV in Hongkong.
READ MORE: No ‘encounter’ with Chinese family with novel coronavirus – Bureau of Quarantine
He entered Hong Kong as a tourist from Wuhan via speed train last January 21 and was detected at the border as having a fever. The man was taken to an isolation ward at Princess Margaret Hospital and is reportedly in stable condition.
However, the Hong Kong Ministry of Health confirmed that his family flew to the Philippines aboard Cebu Pacific Flight 5J-111 on Wednesday (Jan. 22).
READ MORE: Guevarra: BI locates family of Chinese man infected with coronavirus
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra (Screenshot / RTVM / PCOO / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra made the assurance on Thursday (Jan. 23), amid reports that the Hong Kong Ministry of Health confirmed that the family of a Chinese national who tested positive for the infectious virus managed to enter the Philippines.
“I’m sure that the DOH (Department of Health) Bureau of Quarantine has taken steps to restrict the movements of this family from Wuhan,” Guevarra told reporters. “But should the DOH need our help, I will direct the BI and NBI to track down the whereabouts of these Chinese nationals and find the people they have interacted with in our country.”
In the meantime, Guevarra said the BI already took the initiative to look for the Chinese family. “BI has informed me that they are now identifying this family from Wuhan and tracking their whereabouts in the country.”
The Chinese man was the first confirmed case of 2019 nCoV in Hongkong.
READ MORE: No ‘encounter’ with Chinese family with novel coronavirus – Bureau of Quarantine
He entered Hong Kong as a tourist from Wuhan via speed train last January 21 and was detected at the border as having a fever. The man was taken to an isolation ward at Princess Margaret Hospital and is reportedly in stable condition.
However, the Hong Kong Ministry of Health confirmed that his family flew to the Philippines aboard Cebu Pacific Flight 5J-111 on Wednesday (Jan. 22).
READ MORE: Guevarra: BI locates family of Chinese man infected with coronavirus