Provincial task force vs nCoV formed

CEBU, Philippines — Governor Gwendolyn Garcia has signed Executive Order Number 5, which establishes a provincial task force that will execute protocols and contingency plans to prevent the entry of the novel coronavirus acute respiratory disease to Cebu.

The EO will be operational today, February 5.

Garcia issued the order after it was confirmed that the first case of 2019-nCoV is a woman who, with her male partner, entered the Philippines via the Mactan Cebu International Airport on January 21. On the same day, they flew to Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental and stayed there for several days before flying to Manila, and eventually confined at the San Lazaro Hospital after manifesting symptoms of the disease. The man died on February 1.

Section 2 of Garcia’s EO reads:

"There shall be formulated and adopted a 2019nCoV ARD Provincial Preparedness and Contingency Plan within the Province of Cebu to help prevent the entry of the 2019-nCoV ARD into the Province while establishing protocols for the quarantine of individuals suspected of having been exposed to 2019 ARD."

The EO laid down the protocols for incoming Filipino and permanent resident visa holders directly coming from mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau or any other country but has traveled to the three countries within the past 14 days.

All passengers, regardless of nationality, will be made to fill out a health declaration card from the Bureau of Quarantine. This will determine whether or not the person has been to China in the past 14 days. All information will then be counter-checked by the Bureau of Immigration.

Filipinos and PRV holders who came from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau along with those who have been in these countries in the past 14 days will be ushered to a holding room where they will be assessed by BoQ personnel. This assessment will determine whether or not the passengers will have to proceed to the quarantine facilities or be allowed for home quarantine.

Those allowed for home quarantine will be accompanied by personnel from the BoQ so the latter can check certain details at the residence, including the presence of a household member who is relatively vulnerable to nCoV like the elderly or those over 60 years old; children below 10 years old; pregnant women; or those with chronic heart, lung or kidney conditions.

"There are no household members who may be at an increased risk of complication from an existing condition or infection from the 2019-nCoV ARD," Section 6 or the Condition for Home Quarantine reads.

The provincial task force is chaired by Garcia and Department of Health-7 Director Jaime Bernadas. It is composed of four teams: Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit; Quarantine team; Information, Education, Campaign Team and Policy Review, and the Treatment Team.

Daanbantayan

In northern Cebu, the Municipality of Daanbantayan where Malapascua Island, a popular tourist destination, is located has put measures in place to help prevent the spread of the 2019-nCoV.

Yesterday, Mayor Sun Shimura met with resort and hotel owners in Malapascua to discuss updates and create a task force for this purpose.

Highlights of the meeting include the temporary travel ban on all tourists coming from mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

Travellers from other countries will be allowed to enter the island subject to mandatory procedures at Maya RoRo Port where tourists are required to fill out the municipal health declaration card and undergo temperature test through a thermal device before boarding the boat to the island.

Resorts must require their personnel to wear face masks and to monitor all their guests every morning to check if they are showing symptoms such as fever, cough, and sore throat and to inform the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office immediately if they notice the symptoms.

The Task Force Wuhan is composed of an information dissemination team, surveillance and monitoring team, and a treatment team.

Also present during the consultative meeting are members of the Sangguniang Bayan, officials of the Department of Health, Rural Health Unit, religious sector, Department of Education, Tourism, school heads, Coast Guard, and other stakeholders.

Days before the meeting, some residents in Daanbantayan expressed alarm of over foreigners buying masks and thermometer at the pharmacy in the town. MDRRMO personnel went out to check on the report and found out that the four foreigners, two Russians and two Chinese, were just looking for aloe vera for sunburn. One of the Russians bought a thermometer after reportedly feeling feverish after staying long in the sun while the Chinese bought a face mask but the kind that is used for skin care.

Transport

Department of Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade has said that DOTr is coordinating closely with DOH and the Bureau of Quarantine to support its efforts to secure transport terminals from the 2019-nCoV and in monitoring arriving passengers closely.

Tugade said the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines has reactivated its communicable disease preparedness procedures on all CAAP-operated airports, especially in international gateways.

Response Team

For its part, the Department of Interior and Local Government Nationwide urged all barangays nationwide to form their Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams (BHERTs) to help the government address the crisis.

DILG Secretary Eduardo Año, in a statement, said each barangay must be informed adequately about the disease and prepared to adopt protocols in containing it.

Año said each barangay chairperson or Punong Barangay (PB) must appoint BHERT members composed of an executive officer, a barangay tanod, and two barangay health workers, one of them a nurse or a midwife. BHERT members shall be equipped with protective gears such as surgical gowns, goggles, masks, and gloves.

He said the BHERTs would serve as the eyes and ears of the government to make sure that residents within their jurisdictions are all accounted for and are fully informed about the coronavirus.  JMO (FREEMAN)