Gov’t urges workers: Leave Ebola-hit Africa

MANILA, Philippines - The government yesterday urged overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to leave Ebola-hit West African nations, as it announced that anyone who returned would be placed under a 21-day quarantine.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said the government had made a “voluntary repatriation” call to about 900 workers in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.

He told ANC that President Aquino had also ordered that workers who return would have to be isolated in a government facility.

“The President has asked us to come down with a ruling: anyone coming from those countries must undergo a 21-day quarantine,” Del Rosario said.

With 10 million Filipinos working abroad, the country is “very vulnerable” amid the outbreak of the killer disease, according to Del Rosario.

More than 100 Filipino peacekeepers who will be pulled from Liberia next month because of Ebola fears will also be quarantined in a military facility, health department spokesman Lyndon Lee Suy told AFP.

Some US authorities have recently ordered quarantines, which have proved highly controversial amid concerns over potential human rights violations and whether they could have unintended, harmful consequences.

The health department this week started training 130 doctors, nurses and medical workers from government hospitals to handle possible Ebola cases.

Close to 300 others from private hospitals and local government offices will be trained in the coming weeks, according to Lee Suy.

At least 20 government hospitals were designated as Ebola referral and treatment centers, including three in the capital, Lee Suy said.

An entire hospital in the southern suburbs that specializes in infectious diseases and animal bites may be designated as an Ebola center should there be a large number of infections, he said.

“We can’t say whether or not we’re prepared because that’s subjective, but we are in a better position to address the problem,” he said.

Before President Aquino ordered forced quarantines, 126 Filipinos who returned home from the three west African countries were ‘monitored” by the health department from their homes, according to Lee Suy.

Twelve of the 126 developed fever within the 21-day quarantine period but later tested negative for Ebola, he said.

The Ebola outbreak that has been ravaging west Africa has claimed 4,922 lives, according to the World Health Organization.

The rate of infections in hard-hit Liberia appears to have slowed, the WHO said on Wednesday, but it warned the crisis was not over.

Workers’ protection

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) yesterday reminded foreign employers of their duty to protect Filipinos and other workers from the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).

Citing International Labor Organization (ILO) guidelines on Ebola prevention, POEA chief Hans Cacdac said employers have the overall responsibility to ensure that all practicable preventive and protective measures are taken to minimize occupational risks to Ebola.

Employers, he said, are also required to provide protective clothing and equipment to health care and other staff who may be assigned to care for suspected or confirmed Ebola patients.

But Cacdac said workers must also avoid exposing themselves to risks and should participate in occupational safety and health training to be provided by their employers.

“Based on ILO guidelines, until employer has taken remedial action, if necessary, the employer cannot require workers to return to work situation where there is continuing imminent and serious danger to life and health,” he said.

The ILO earlier listed Ebola as an occupational disease that may allow workers who acquired the infection at workplace to seek compensation.

Health experts said the EVD can be transmitted to people from dead or alive wild animals and can also spread through human-to-human transmission.

No restrictions

Despite the Ebola threat, the Philippine government is unlikely to bar the entry of foreign travelers even from Ebola-affected countries into the country.

“We are not planning to do that. If ever we will just be requiring foreigners who will be entering the country to comply with our Ebola prevention guidelines,” Lee Suy said.

Intensified campaign

Meanwhile, Philippine Red Cross chairman Richard Gordon yesterday called on other countries in the Asia-Pacific region to work together and raise the necessary resources to scale up the response against the Ebola virus.

Grodon said during the 9th Asia-Pacific Conference held in China that Red Cross and Red Crescent societies have the mission to promote better information, prevention, and effective care for patients suffering from Ebola.

“As leads for disaster response in our respective countries, we also have a lot to learn from the Ebola crisis, assessing the risks in our respective countries, developing a cadre of staff able to prevent and control any possible outbreak and working with our respective governments for effective national preparedness,” he said. – With Mayen Jaymalin