MANILA - The foreign consultant of United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) in Makati City who showed up at the bank with flu-like symptoms has tested negative for the A(H1N1) virus, the bank’s spokesman told abs-cbnNEWS.com Sunday.

Ricky Lepatan, UCPB spokesman, said “the consultant tested negative for the A(H1N1) virus. The hospital test results came out today.”

Some 50 employees of the bank’s office in Makati City were quarantined on Friday after the Malaysian consultant showed up at the bank with flu-like symptoms.

Edmond Bernardo, head of the UCPB Branch Banking Group, said a throat swab sample was taken from the foreign consultant, who had just returned from a vacation in Malaysia.

He added that the Malaysian had been sent home on Thursday and asked to do home quarantine.

Bernardo said that as a precautionary measure, they also sanitized the UCPB building's third floor and locked down the 50 employees. He said food were delivered to the employees, who were eventually allowed to go home.

The bank official clarified that there was no confirmed A(H1N1) case in their office and insisted that the 50 employees were quarantined as a precautionary measure. With a report from Judith Balea, ABS-CBN News