Last week, on my social media feed were posts on a confirmed case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus (MERS-CoV) in Bacolod City. I saw some posts from family and friends back home. There was a panic in the city as there was a text message being sent out from a president of a known hospital in Bacolod. It turned out to be a hoax, the case was negative.

Today, I saw a news in CCN that DOH confirmed a MERS-CoV case in the country.

According to the DOH, the patient was referred to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) last Saturday at 11:30 a.m. The test results released at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday showed that the patient is showing a low viral load of MERS-CoV. – CNN Philippines

According to DOH, there is no need to panic as there has been no record of community transmission of MERS. Those who are at risk of contracting the virus are hospital workers and household members with close and repeated contact with the patient.

Here’s some infographics shared by a doctor friend and another one from WHO. Let’s be informed and be prepared, perhaps it’s the best guard against panic.