ILOILO City – Does the city government have “screening and sanitation systems” to protect people from the possible entry of a new virus from China that has also brought a handful of pneumonia-like cases in Thailand, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and the US?
“As a neighboring country of China, we must be vigilant and swiftly take the necessary precautions,” said Councilor Allan Zaldivar, chairperson of the Committee on Health in the Sangguniang Panlungsod.
Zaldivar pointed out that the highlight of the Dinagyang Festival is drawing closer – the crowd-drawing ati tribes competition on Sunday, Jan. 26.
“We do not want to put our health at risk,” said Zaldivar, emphasizing that prevention is better than cure.
The Dinagyang, he said, attracts visitors from other countries thus the risk of the China virus entering the city should not be downplayed.
The virus, known also as 2019-nCoV, is understood to be a new strain of coronavirus that has not previously been identified in humans. The SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) virus that killed nearly 800 people globally in the early 2000s was also a coronavirus.
This new virus has spread from Wuhan City (there are 440 confirmed cases, with the origin a seafood market) in China to several Chinese provinces, as well as the US, Thailand and South Korea. Yesterday the city of Macau also reported its first confirmed case of the virus.
Signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties.
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to more severe disease. It’s not yet clear how bad this new coronavirus is.
Citing Mayor Jerry Treñas, Zaldivar said the city government will provide free pneumonia vaccination to all employees of the city hall.
The Department of Health (DOH) confirmed early this week that three Boracay Island-bound Chinese visitors who entered the country through the Kalibo International Airport were placed under quarantine in Kalibo, Aklan.
The airport’s thermal scanner detected them with fever.
The three Chinese nationals were referred to the Dr. Rafael S. Tumbukon Memorial Hospital (DRSTMH), said Dr. Glenn Alonsabe, DOH regional epidemiologist.
The first to be quarantined, according
to Dr. Cornelio Cuachon of the Aklan Provincial Health Office, was a
29-year-old Chinese national. This was on Jan. 17. The second was a
three-year-old girl on Jan. 18.
The most recent, on Monday, was a 65-year-old Chinese.
“The 29 years old Chinese was advised to stay overnight at the DRSTMH while the young girl was considered an outpatient. The 65-year-old patient, on the other hand, is currently being checked at the hospital,” said Cuachon.
Throat swab specimens were collected from the three foreigners then these were sent to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in Manila for analysis.
It may take time before the results would be known, said Cuachon.
“The quarantine procedure is part of our alert system to protect the public,” said Alonsabe.
The Kalibo International Airport services flights direct from China.
The region’s other international airports are the Iloilo Airport in Cabatuan, Iloilo and Boracay Airport in Caticlan, Malay, Aklan.
The Bureau of Quarantine has personnel in the airports and even seaports, said Dr. Mary Jane Juanico, head of DOH Region 6’s infectious disease section.
“They are already doing control measures. They are on heightened alert checking our travellers,” she said./PN
