Health officials say a 36-year-old foreigner who arrived in the Philippines from the Middle East is under quarantine after testing positive for the MERS virus.
Health Secretary Janette Garin today said that several people the foreigner had come in close contact with have been traced. She said one of them, a Filipino woman exhibiting mild symptoms, had been isolated and her test results were being awaited.
The patient's home country was not immediately disclosed. Garin said around 200 passengers who were on a flight to Manila that the foreigner took were also being traced. At least seven other people who had close contact with the patient were under home quarantine.
The patient initially arrived in the Philippines from Saudi Arabia but also stayed in Dubai before flying to Manila.
