PUI in ship from Manila, 311 passengers cleared

Passengers undergo checks including having their temperatures taken after disembarking from a ship that arrived from Manila at the Cebu City port on Saturday morning, March 14, 2020. | Delta Letigio

CEBU CITY, Philippines — One of the 312 passengers of a ship, who arrived in the Cebu City port from Manila on Saturday morning, March 14, 2020, has been put on quarantine.

The passenger, who was nursing a mild fever, was also considered a patient under investigation (PUI) for Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), said Cebu City Health Officer Daisy Villa in an interview with reporters on March 14.

Villa said that the passenger, who hails from Tabogon town in northern Cebu, was having a 38.3 degrees Celsius fever.

She also said that the passenger had no symptom of COVID-19,  except that he had a mild fever.

1 PUI, no PUMs

“Only one passenger had a fever, he is considered as a PUI, but the other passengers with no symptoms are free to go,” said Villa. 

She said the rest of the passengers were not considered as PUMs (persons under monitoring) even if they came from Manila as they did not show symptoms of the COVID-19.

However, the 311 passengers were advised to undergo self-quarantine.

She also said that personal information about the passengers were also recorded so that they could be easy to track down if the need would arise.

Meanwhile, the Cebu City Health Office personnel also turned over the PUI passenger to the Cebu Provincial Health Office.

Villa said that the symptoms of the PUI were only mild, and the person might even go home to Tabogon for home quarantine, but this decision would lie in the hands of the PHO.

Precautionary measures in ports

For Cebu City, the local government unit has set up all precautionary measures in all five ports within its jurisdiction. 

Read more: Normal operations in Cebu ports amid COVID-19

The City Health and the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) waited for the passengers of the MV St. Francis Xavier, which came from a port in Manila and arrived in Cebu at past 9 a.m.

Personnel from the BOQ and the City Health Office were at the port to do temperature checks and passenger assessments.

This was the instruction of Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella to ensure that no possible carrier of the virus could enter into the city. 

Read more: BREAKING: Metro Manila placed under ‘community quarantine’ due to COVID-19

The nation’s capital will be placed under community quarantine starting tomorrow, March 15, 2020, after local transmission has been recorded.  

Starting tomorrow all Manila bound trips are already banned. 

Villa said Cebu City would remain vigilant for all inbound trips from Manila and would check on all passengers for symptoms of the COVID-19. 

He encouraged the public to remain calm and continue to practice proper hygiene to prevent the virus spread. /dbs