2 military sites in Luzon eyed as quarantine areas for Filipinos from Wuhan

Hospital officials Hian Kua (2nd R), Mario Juco (R) and Anthony Leachon (L) watch as a medical worker demonstrates the best way to put on protective gear inside the holding area for patients suspected of being infected with a deadly SARS-life virus which originated from the Chinese city of Wuhan, at the Manila Doctors Hospital compound in Manila. (AFP)

MANILA, Philippines — Two military sites in Luzon are being considered as quarantine areas for Filipinos who would be evacuated from Wuhan, the central China’s city at the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak.

“The Department of Health is looking at the naval station at Caballo Island and Fort Magsaysay Drug Rehabilitation Center in Nueva Ecija as a possible quarantine area for returning OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) from Wuhan,” Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told reporters Saturday.

He said DOH officials visited Caballo Island on Thursday and Fort Magsaysay on Friday to inspect the sites.

Caballo Island is a naval detachment located at the entrance of Manila Bay. In 2014, it was used to quarantine Filipino peacekeepers from Ebola-ravaged Liberia.

Fort Magsaysay, the largest military reservation in the Philippines, houses a mega drug rehabilitation facility, which was earlier touted as the centerpiece of the administration’s anti-drug program.

Lorenzana, who also chairs the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, said part of the government’s plan was to evacuate the Filipinos in Wuhan using a chartered plane.

At least 259 people have died and 11,800 people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, according to the latest figures provided by Chinese health officials.

Another 102,000 people were reportedly under medical observation.

In the Philippines, there has been one confirmed case of the new coronavirus, while 31 people remain under observation.