MANDATORY quarantine may soon be imposed on all passengers coming from China who will be arriving at the Mactan Cebu International Airport.
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Individuals coming from China are not kilos of meat that Cebu province will outrightly deny entry.
But while persons from China are not prohibited to travel into Cebu, their entry may mean being isolated for up to 14 days before they can proceed with their plans here.
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Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, during a multi-sectoral meeting at the Capitol regarding the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) threat on Thursday, January 30, 2020, said all passengers that would be arriving at the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) from China, either by direct or connecting flights, would be subjected to mandatory quarantine of up to 14 days.
The 14 days as maximum period of being under quarantine is based on the reported incubation period of the 2019-nCoV. While at the incubation period, a person who is infected with the virus may not manifest symptoms of the viral disease yet.
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Garcia said the mandatory quarantine measure would be in effect as soon as she would have signed the executive order which she also intended to base the formation of an Anti-Novel Coronavirus task force.
Garcia said the measure was not intended to ban those coming from China from entering the country but discouraging those who would not really need to come here.
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Garcia said the Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7) and the provincial government had already identified three facilities that would be used as quarantine areas of those passengers from China.
However, Garcia said they might need more facilities as the MCIA had reported that around 1,000 Chinese passengers would arrive at their airport daily.
“We hope that we may be assisted by those who may be able to assist us. Should there be an available facility which we can also identify as a quarantine facility,” Garcia said in the meeting which was also attended by representatives of the business sector.
Garcia said the province would be tapping its disaster fund to help the DOH-7 in keeping up with the quarantine facilities once the new policy would be implemented.
In the middle of the multi-agency meeting, the news of the first confirmed 2019-nCoV infection was also announced by Health Secretary Francisco Duque III.
The patient, a 38-year-old woman from Wuhan City in China, reportedly visited the cities of Cebu and Dumaguete in Negros Oriental before she went to Manila where she was confined and suspected for 2019-nCoV.
DOH-7 Regional Director, Dr. Jaime Bernadas, in a separate interview, said they had yet to confirm the reports as they were still awaiting the official files of the patient.
Bernadas said they will act accordingly based on the verified information that will be relayed to them by their central office.
WATCH THE FULL LIVE INTERVIEW HERE:
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Meanwhile, Garcia said the Anti-2019-nCoV task force which would be participated by both the public and private sectors would be divided into four teams: surveillance and monitoring, quarantine, information and education and treatment.
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Airline representatives also volunteered to be part of the surveillance and monitoring considering that they would have the first contact with the passengers when the latter would board the planes.
The DOH-7 and the Provincial Health Office will lead the surveillance and monitoring, quarantine and treatment teams while the Department of Education (DepEd) will anchor on the responsibility of proper information dissemination.
Garcia said they would further define the roles of each member of the task force, based on their expertise, once the EO would be signed.
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According to the data of the DOH, there are 29 persons under investigation for symptoms of the 2019-nCoV nationwide. Of which, two are currently in Central Visayas.
Bernadas, however, said that the first confirmed case of the 2019-nCoV in the country was not among those from Central Visayas./dbs