Philippines to cremate country’s first coronavirus victim

Passengers wearing protective masks, following confirmed cases of coronavirus in the country, arrive at the departure area at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, in Manila, Philippines. (Reuters)

• The Chinese man died in a government hospital in Manila one week after he arrived in the country with his 38-year-old partner
• The female Chinese tourist, who was the first to be tested positive for coronavirus, is now in a stable condition

MANILA: A 44-year-old Chinese national who died in the Philippines after contracting coronavirus was set to be cremated on Wednesday, Health Secretary Francisco Duque said.
An initial delay was caused by some mortuaries refusing to cremate the body after learning the cause of his death.
The Chinese man died in a government hospital in Manila one week after he arrived in the country with his 38-year-old partner. 
Both are from the Chinese city of Wuhan —the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak —and arrived in the Philippines via Hong Kong on Jan. 21.
They were admitted to San Lazaro Hospital on Jan. 25. The female Chinese tourist, who was the first to be tested positive for coronavirus, is now in a stable condition.
“She has no more fever, no colds, but the latest test showed she’s still positive (for coronavirus) so she’s still admitted (in the hospital),” Health Undersecretary Eric Domingo said on Wednesday.
The male patient, who was the second confirmed case of coronavirus in the country, died on Feb. 1 and is the first fatality outside China. He was supposed to be cremated within 12 hours of his death.
On Wednesday, Duque said a funeral parlor in Quezon City finally agreed to do the cremation with the consent of the victim’s family.
Duque added that he has instructed the Health Facilities Regulatory Bureau to check whether the mortuaries that refused to do the job had violated the law.
“The law has to be followed, otherwise there should sanctions,” he said. “Their personal interest can’t prevail when they say ‘no, we’re afraid because that person died of this and we might get infected’.”
He added that based on information from the World Health Organization (WHO), patients who succumb to coronavirus are no longer infectious.
But he said the body is sealed in a bag and will remain that way during the cremation so it will not be contagious.
Meanwhile, a 60-year-old Chinese woman has been confirmed as the Philippines’ third case of coronavirus, the Department of Health said on Wednesday.
She arrived in Cebu City from Wuhan via Hong Kong on Jan. 20 and traveled to Bohol province, it added.
“The Epidemiology Bureau (EB) has initiated contact tracing of persons who interacted with or were in close proximity to the patient,” the department said.
“The Bureau of Quarantine and EB are coordinating with the concerned airline, while the Central Visayas Center for Health Development is in coordination with the hotel where the patient stayed and the hospital where she was admitted.”
The department said as of Wednesday there are 133 suspected cases of coronavirus in the country, of which 115 are currently admitted and isolated, while 16 have been discharged and are under strict monitoring.
Among those being monitored, 63 are Filipinos, 54 are Chinese and 16 are from other nationalities. Thirty-two of the suspected coronavirus cases were reported to have traveled to Wuhan.