BORACAY – Amid the Wuhan virus outbreak in China, authorities in Aklan have taken intense monitoring and surveillance measures to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus.
Airports and ports in the province remained vigilant as quarantine personnel secure and screen passengers from other countries.
On Jan. 23, Chinese authorities imposed a total lockdown and cancelled flights to Wuhan ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday.
The local government of Wuhan, a former British settlement and a major transport hub for central China on the Yangtze River, has suspended public urban transportation over the outbreak.
Hours before the lockdown, around 135 passengers of Royal Air Charter arrived from Wuhan to the Kalibo International Airport on Thursday.
The presence of Boracay Island tourists from China, however, triggered alarm and public anxiety in the province on account of heightened risk from the new coronavirus.
Around 80 Wuhan tourists will be repatriated on Jan. 25 via Kalibo airport while the rest will stay in Boracay Island, Malay, Aklan until Jan. 27.
Last week, three Chinese nationals with no travel history to Wuhan were examined in Aklan Provincial Hospital after experiencing flu-like symptoms on arrival to the Kalibo airport.
A flight attendant, who traveled from Wuhan, put herself under quarantine when she arrived at the airport after manifesting the flu-like symptoms.
Provincial Health Officer Dr. Cornelio Cuachon Jr. said the specimen were collected and transported to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine for confirmatory tests.
Local health authorities in Aklan said the province has no confirmed cases of the new coronavirus strain.
Cuachon urged the public to avoid close contact with live or dead animals or people suffering from acute respiratory infections as he encouraged them to frequently wash their hands.
As of Jan. 24, the World Health Organization reported 26 deaths due to the new coronavirus strain while 830 confirmed cases are being examined in China.
The virus has spread to Thailand, France, Japan, South Korea, United States, and the cities of Shanghai and Beijing.
Common symptoms include sore throat, fever and breathing difficulties.(With a report from Akean Forum/PN)