The first case of novel coronavirus in the Philippines – a Chinese tourist from Wuhan who had been travelling with a man who died of the virus – is no longer showing symptoms and may be discharged soon.

The last test on the 38-year-old woman, conducted on 6 February, showed she was negative for the virus, according to the health department. Two consecutive negative tests are required before a patient may be discharged.

“This shows the novel coronavirus is not uniformly fatal and that recovery is more likely than dying from the disease,” said Dr Edsel Salvana, director of the University of the Philippines’ Institute of Molecular Biology. “Please don’t panic and don’t share fake news.”

Salvana has been active on social media leading efforts to fight misinformation about the outbreak.

The government is also managing public concerns over the return of 30 Filipinos, including an infant, from Hubei province in China. They arrived on a chartered plane early on Sunday and were brought to an isolated facility near Manila to begin a 14-day quarantine.

The first case was the “travelling companion” – reported to be the girlfriend – of the 44-year old Wuhan man who died from the virus on 1 February. It is the first and only death from coronavirus outside China and Hong Kong.

The Philippines reported three cases. The third, a 60-year-old woman also from Wuhan, was belatedly confirmed after she had left the country. The health department said she appeared to have recovered from the coronavirus. She was discharged after samples sent to Australia tested negative. But a belated test of an earlier sample, conducted after the country acquired capability for local testing, was positive.

There is no known transmission in the country but more than 200 cases are being monitored for possible exposure to those that have been confirmed.



