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 officials said on Monday.

Philippine Health Secretary Janette Garin said several people the traveler had come in close contact with have been traced. She said one of them, a Filipino woman exhibiting mild symptoms, had been isolated while awaiting her test results.

At least seven other people who had close contact with the patient were under home quarantine.