ILOILO City – The temperature of all people entering city hall would be checked. Mayor Jerry Treñas issued the order.
The city government is getting more proactive in its bid to keep the city free from the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) which has so far killed 801 people in China, and one each in Hong Kong and the Philippines.
The infection seems to start with a fever, followed by a dry cough and then, after a week, leads to shortness of breath. But in more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and even death.
A report on the early stages of the outbreak by the Lancet medical journal said most patients who died from the virus had pre-existing conditions.
Treñas did not say when the temperature checks would start. Friday last week he announced that the city government would be purchasing 78 non-contact thermometers as part of the precautionary measures against the 2019-nCov.
The thermometers would be distributed to health centers, dedicated ambulances and at city hall.
A fever is a temporary increase in body temperature above its normal range (98.6 F or 37 C), often due to an illness. Having a fever is a sign that something out of the ordinary is going on in the body.
Non-contact thermometers allow a person’s temperature to be taken with minimal or no contact with the person. This means temperature can be measured without the discomfort of having to sit still with a thermometer in the mouth, armpit, or rectum long enough to obtain a correct temperature reading.
The lack of contact also means the disinfection process between patients for the thermometers is minimal or unnecessary, allowing for easier and faster use when screening large numbers of people.
The main types of non-contact thermometers are non-contact infrared thermometers, tympanic thermometers, and thermal scanners.
Non-contact infrared thermometers are held three to 15 cm away from the patient and typically measure temperature on the forehead or temple.
Tympanic thermometers measure the thermal radiation from the tympanic membrane and within the ear canal.
Handheld thermal scanners can be used to take a person’s temperature from a greater distance than other non-contact thermometers, which may make them a good candidate for use in mass screening situations.
As this was being written, it was unclear when would the city government start purchasing non-contact thermometers.
For the time being, the city government has made available at city hall hand sanitizers and soaps in its washing areas (restrooms).
Treñas is also set to issue a memorandum to all restaurants, hotels, department stores, and other establishments requesting them to provide hand sanitizers, washing areas and soaps that can be used by their clients or costumers.
According to Treñas, the city government is taking these steps in response to the call of the Regional Development Council and Regional Peace and Order Council in Western Visayas that all local government units help detect people possibly infected with the 2019-nCoV.
To date, Iloilo City has two persons under investigation (PUI) for 2019-nCoV with one – a three-year-old Chinese child—already tested negative for the virus.
Today, Treñas is attending a meeting of all the country’s mayors and governors that President Rodrigo Duterte called.
The meeting will be at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.
Last week, Treñas said flights from Singapore to Iloilo and vice versa must be temporarily halted, too, as a precautionary measure against the spread of 2019-nCoV. In letters to three airlines, he pointed out the “rising cases of the novel coronavirus globally.”
The Iloilo Airport services two international flights – Iloilo to Singapore and vice versa, and Iloilo to Hong Kong and vice versa.
Treñas wrote letters to Cebu Pacific Air, Philippine Airlines and Air Asia that they “voluntarily cease your international flights to and from countries positive with the 2019 novel coronavirus immediately.”
PAL and Air Asia actually have no Singapore and Hong Kong flights from and to the Iloilo Airport in Cabatuan, Iloilo. Only Cebu Pacific has.
Cebu Pacific already halted its Hong Kong-Iloilo flight beginning Feb. 4. This would stretch up to March 29.
However, the airline is maintaining its Singapore to Iloilo flights and vice versa, according to Iloilo Airport terminal supervisor Arthur Parreño.
Both Hong Kong and Singapore have reported 2019-nCoV infections.
Treñas also expressed concern over the continued entry of international flights at the Kalibo International Airport, although those from China have been temporarily stopped.
“Kon mag ginutok to sila sa Kalibo kag may magmasakit, waay man na sila iban nga kadtuan kundi diri man gihapon sa aton. We are concerned. Ginaproteksyunan ta ang aton pumoluyo dasun sige ila pa pasulod,” Treñas lamented./PN
