ILOILO City – Nineteen Korean nationals left this southern city after the religious gathering they were supposed to attend was cancelled by the city government due to concerns over the possible spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
The Koreans were tracked down to a hotel in Mandurriao district on Wednesday afternoon. Yesterday morning, 14 of them left the city for Kalibo, Aklan where they would be boarding a plane back to South Korea.
“Waay nadayun ang event so nag-decide na lang sila nga mapuli,” said Dr. Ronald Jay Fortuna, city government’s focal person on COVID-19.
The event was the “RUN for Jesus 2020”, a Feb. 27 praise and worship open air convention initially set at the football pitch of the La Paz district plaza.
The five other Koreans left the city via the Iloilo Airport in Cabatuan, Iloilo. Fortuna did not say where they were headed. There were no flights from Iloilo to any point in South Korea.
According to Fortuna, a team from the City Health Office and Bureau of Immigration checked the Koreans on Wednesday afternoon and found them to be in good health.
“RUN for Jesus 2020” was expected to gather between 20,000 to 30,000 participants. It was, however, cancelled by the city government as part of precautionary measures against COVID-19 after learning that some delegations would be coming from the South Korean city of Daegu, epicenter of the virus outbreak in that country.
Fortuna said the 19 Koreans show no symptoms of COVID-19.
The COVID-19 infection seems to start with a fever, followed by a dry cough, according to a British Broadcasting Co. report.
After a week, it leads to shortness of breath and some patients require hospital treatment.
The incubation period – between infection and showing any symptoms – lasts up to 14 days, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
But some researchers say it may be as long as 24 days. And Chinese scientists say some people may be infectious even before their symptoms appear.
Aside from the 19 “RUN for Jesus 2020” South Koran delegates, the City Health Office was also able to track down a 12-member South Korean family who arrived here on Wednesday as tourists.
Fortuna said family members were told to self-quarantine “and they understood man.”
The family eventually decided to leave the city, said Fortuna.
The WHO suggests the following to avoid contracting COVID-19 or spreading it:
* Wash hands – soap or hand gel can kill the virus
* Cover mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing – ideally with a tissue – and wash hands afterwards, to prevent the virus spreading
* Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth – if hands touch a surface contaminated by the virus, this could transfer it into the body
* Don’t get too close to people coughing, sneezing or with a fever – they can propel small droplets containing the virus into the air – ideally, keep one meter (three feet) away
The jump in the number of cases outside China – where COVID-19 originated – raised fears the virus outbreak could become a pandemic (when an infectious disease spreads easily from person to person in many parts of the world).
South Korea has the largest number of confirmed cases outside China (over 1,200 infections and 12 dead as of Feb. 26). The biggest virus clusters have been linked to a hospital and a religious group near the south-eastern city of Daegu./PN
