ILOILO – The rise in confirmed cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among repatriated overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) has alarmed the provincial government. Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. formed a quarantine team to handle returning overseas workers and locally stranded individuals (LSIs).
There were now 48 COVID-19-positive repatriated overseas workers in Western Visayas with the addition of two more confirmed cases yesterday – a 48-year-old male from Kalibo, Aklan (Patient No. 126) and a 31-year-old male from Cadiz City, Negros Occidental (Patient No. 127).
Both were asymptomatic and under quarantine, according to Department of Health (DOH) Region 6’s Dr. Marie Jocelyn Te, medical coordinator for emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases.
Since April 9 when the government started transporting back to Western Visayas the overseas workers stranded in Manila and Cebu due to the quarantine, a total of 3,979 have returned to the region, data from DOH showed.
Patient No. 126 returned to Metro Manila from Africa on March 14. He was subjected to reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test on May 14 (with negative result for COVID-19) before being allowed to return to Aklan on May 28.
On June 2 here, he was retested and found to be positive for COVID-19. The result was released only yesterday.
On the other hand, Patient No. 127, a resident of Negros Occidental, came from Saudi Arabia. He was retested on June 1.
Of the 48 COVID-positive repatriated overseas workers, eight were from Iloilo province, 13 from Iloilo City, nine from Negros Occidental, seven from Bacolod City, four from Aklan, four from Antique, and three from Guimaras.
On Monday, Iloilo’s Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. issued Executive Order 134 establishing the provincial quarantine team. It will “monitor the health of incoming passengers with thermal scanners and other similar devices, as well as ensure the performance of personal hygiene procedures, like hand-washing and/or application of disinfectants, upon entry to the province.”
The team will also “perform quarantine procedure to persons under monitoring (PUM) and persons under investigation (PUI).”
Another task is to register passengers – get all relevant information and transmit the same to the concerned city or municipality for monitoring and execution of quarantine procedures.
“This is to make their arrival organized and systematic. We will establish a contact tracing procedure or protocol to prevent the community spread of COVID-19,” said Atty. Suzette Mamon, provincial administrator.
Other members of the team: Provincial Health Office head Dr. Patrcia Grace Trabado, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Ma. Socorro Quiñon, Hospital Management Office head Dr. Cynthia Cabangal-Ng, Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office head Dr. Jerry Bionat, and Public Employment Service Office head Francisco Heler Jr., among others.
COVID-19 is the infectious disease caused by the most recently discovered coronavirus. This new virus and disease were unknown before the outbreak began in Wuhan, China in December 2019.
The disease can spread from person to person through small droplets from the nose or mouth which are spread when a person with COVID-19 coughs or exhales.
These droplets also land on objects and surfaces around the person. Other people then catch COVID-19 by touching these objects or surfaces, then touching their eyes, nose or mouth.
The most common symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, tiredness, and dry cough.
Some patients may have aches and pains, nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat or diarrhea. These symptoms are usually mild and begin gradually. Some people become infected but don’t develop any symptoms and don’t feel unwell.
There is still no vaccine for COVID-19./PN
