The Department of Health (DOH) on Friday said the monkepox-positive passenger that boarded a Philippine Airlines flight bound for Hong Kong is not a Filipino.
In a press briefing, DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said they are still verifying with the Hong Kong Ministry of Health the identity of the passenger.
"Ang binigay lang nilang datos sa atin basta sinabi nila na he is a foreign national. Ang isa lang na puwede kong i-disclose sa inyo because I cannot give you kung ano yung nabasa lang natin sa dyaryo. Kailangan ma-confirm namin through an official report to us by the Ministry of Hong Kong. One thing I can assure our Filipinos [is] that hindi siya Pinoy, hindi siya Filipino," Vergeire said.
[The only data they gave us was that they said he is a foreign national. We need to confirm through an official report to us by the Ministry of Hong Kong. One thing I can assure our Filipinos is that he is not a Filipino.)
Vergeire said the passenger had traveled from various countries including Canada and the United States before coming to the Philippines.
"Nagdaan siya dito sa Pilipinas bago siya umuwi doon sa Hong Kong. He came from other countries as well. Nagpunta siya sa Canada, nagpunta siya sa Amerika. Pagkatapos, nagpunta siya dito sa Pilipinas at saka siya bumalik sa kanyang lugar sa Hong Kong," she said.
[The passenger flew to the Philippines before going back to Hong Kong. He came from other countries as well. He went to Canada. He went to America. And then, here in the Philippines, before going back to his place in Hong Kong.]
The patient only exhibited the symptoms after arriving in Hong Kong, Vergeire added.
The DOH has identified the close contacts of the passenger and closely monitoring them.
“We are closely monitoring them, but up until now, asymptomatic itong lahat ng tao na ito (they’re all still asymptomatic),” she added.
The Philippines has so far confirmed four monkeypox cases after the DOH announced that a 25-year-old Filipino with no documented travel history in any country have been confirmed with monkeypox infections.
