A 48-YEAR-OLD Filipino worker at the Philippine office of accounting firm Deloitte
was confirmed to have been infected with a novel coronavirus on March 5 after traveling
to Japan in the previous month. He was the fourth case in the Philippines. In the next three days, Philippine health authorities confirmed six more infections, including the first local
transmission of the virus between a Filipino couple from San Juan City near the capital.

By March 9, the Department of Health had identified 468 people who may have been exposed to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) from cases No. 4 to 10. Six people
had been isolated by then, according to the agency.