11 OFWs vacationing in Mindanao monitored for MERS

COTABATO CITY, Philippines – Government epidemiologists are closely monitoring the health condition of 11 people in Central Mindanao suspected of having been infected with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus.

Department of Health (DOH) regional information officer Jenny Ventura, however, said the 11 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) remained in good health.

The vacationing workers came from the Middle East two weeks ago.

“None of them have been confirmed to be ‘virus carrier’ yet and so there’s nothing to worry about,” Ventura said.

He said three of the workers are in Kidapawan City, while the rest are vacationing in Kiamba town in Sarangani, in Polomolok and Noralla, both in South Cotabato, in Pikit, North Cotabato, and in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat.

Eva Rabaya, chief of the North Cotabato Integrated Provincial Health Office, said the three from Kidapawan City are now under quarantine at a government hospital.

“They have been placed under quarantine. Nasal and throat swabs taken from them are now being examined to determine if they are indeed infected,” Rabaya said.

North Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza has ordered Rabaya and her staff to closely monitor the condition of the three in Kidapawan City and another vacationing in Pikit town.

Mendoza had also ordered the local government units in North Cotabato’s 17 towns to monitor the health condition of other OFWs that recently arrived from the Middle East and are now vacationing in their respective municipalities.

“The OFWs suspected of having been infected with MERS were told to stay home, to isolate themselves in their houses in the meantime,” Rabaya said.

The DOH has implemented measures to prevent the entry of MERS into the country.

Last week, the DOH called on all the passengers of an Etihad flight that arrived in Manila on April 15 to undergo testing for MERS.

The DOH advised all the passengers of that flight to submit swab samples to the nearest government hospital or medical facility to ensure that they will get prompt medical attention.

Malacañang said the measure is necessary because it wanted to be totally sure there is indeed no MERS entering the country.

The DOH has tracked down 119 of the 415 passengers and crew of Etihad Flight EY 0424.

Of those contacted, 72 have been tested and 40 of them yielded negative results.

Health authorities in Bulacan had traced 17 people on that flight.

Jocelyn Gomez, head of the provincial public health office, said all 17 were subjected to the mandatory procedure to detect if they are infected with the virus.

Gomez said the 17 tested negative for MERS and showed no apparent symptoms.

Five of the workers who were among the passengers of the plane were located in Isabela province.

Efforts are now underway to locate another OFW believed to be a resident of Cauayan City, according to Isabela police director Senior Superintendent Sotero Ramos Jr.

One of the passengers from Ilagan City was placed under quarantine at the San Lazaro Hospital in Manila but tested negative for the virus, Ramos said.

Another, a female from Aurora town, is still under quarantine in San Lazaro Hospital while another female from Ilagan City is also quarantined at the Cagayan Valley Medical Center in Tuguegarao City.

Two males from Echague and San Isidro were quarantined at the Southern Isabela District Hospital in Santiago City.

Meanwhile, a group of OFWs yesterday urged the government to undertake measures to protect hundreds of stranded and distressed Filipino workers in Saudi Arabia from MERS.

Migrante-Middle East regional coordinator John Leonard Monterona said the government must take immediate action to ensure the protection of all Filipinos, including the distressed workers in the Middle East countries.

Monterona said the United Arab Emirates government has advised its citizens and expatriates to wear masks when going to public places as a number of people, including two OFWs, reportedly had MERS.

Monterona called on the Philippine consulate in Jeddah to launch an education campaign on how to avoid MERS as well as medical missions to monitor the health condition of an estimated 200 stranded OFWs and their children who have been staying in the deportation facility.

He said President Aquino should order the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the DOH to send a medical team to attend to the medical needs of distressed OFWs in Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle East. – With Raymund Catindig, Dino Balabo, Mayen Jaymalin