Airport screening procedures now include departing passengers

Thermal cameras like these are now stationed at the immigration offices at Terminal 2 of the Mactan Cebu International Airport | CDND File Photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Another layer of screening procedures will be implemented at Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA).

The Bureau of Quarantine in Central Visayas (BOQ – 7) announced in a press conference on Monday, March 9, 2020, that they will also be putting up thermal screening equipment for departing passengers at the airport’s Terminal 2.

“We’ve been on heightened alert ever since (the threats of Coronavirus Disease 2019/COVID -19). But since we’re now under Public Health Emergency, we will be putting up extra screening,” said Dr. Terence Anthony Bermejo, BOQ – 7 head.

Bermejo said the additional screening will be implemented on passengers departing Terminal 2 that caters to international destinations. This is on top of the three layers of thermal screening cameras now installed in the airport’s arrival areas.

“This is our means to expand our vigilance on COVID-19,” Bermejo added.

In Cebu, all passengers arriving at the airport’s domestic and international terminals are required to fill up the health declaration forms to determine if they have recently traveled to areas affected by the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19).

On March 7, the Department of Health (DOH) hoisted a Code Red Alert Sublevel 1 after the agency confirmed the first local transmission of the disease. There are now 20 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country as of March 9.

DOH also urged local government units and other relevant agencies to anticipate the possibility of a sustained community transmission which will serve as their basis to upgrade the country’s alert level to Sublevel 2.

As of this posting, no lockdowns have been implemented in different parts of the country yet.

Community lockdowns usually manifested in interruptions of transportation operations are only allowed in Code Red Alert Sublevel 2. / dcb