Gov’t wants passengers tested for MERS virus

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Health (DOH) yesterday reiterated its advisory for all the passengers of an Etihad flight that arrived in Manila on April 15 to undergo testing for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus.

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.

Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. of the Presidential Communications Operations Office yesterday said there has been a strict directive from President Aquino to ensure that all passengers of the flight be tested.

“As part of our precautionary measures, we have to conduct a simple and free nose and throat swab on all passengers of Flight EY 0424. They should go to the nearest hospital under the Department of Health,” he said.

“Through this, we can easily detect and ensure if they have been infected, or if they need immediate treatment,” Coloma said.

The health department came out with the list of 415 passengers of Flight EY 0424 that arrived from United Arab Emirates (UAE) last April 15.

One of the passengers, a Filipino male nurse, had initially tested positive for MERS, but tested negative in two medical tests done after his arrival.

Three of them, however, are now confined at the Batangas Medical Center where they are under observation.

Despite this, the rest of the passengers of that flight should submit for testing or report to the Philippines National Police (PNP) so they could be guided accordingly, the DOH said.

“As this disease is transmitted through close contact, those closest to you are the ones most at risk, in case you may be infected,” the DOH said.

The DOH added a team of epidemiology experts is flying to UAE to look into the condition of Filipino workers there and assist them accordingly,

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

Of those contacted, 72 have been tested and 40 of them yielded negative results, according to DOH program manager for Emerging and Re-Emerging Diseases Lyndon Lee Suy.

The samples taken from the 32 other passengers were still being processed and it usually takes nine to 10 days to do this.

Health Secretary Enrique Ona reported over the weekend that “there is no MERS-coronavirus here in the Philippines” and “we are still free from the virus.”

He announced that a vacationing Filipino nurse has tested negative for the virus.

Ona however pointed out they still need to do “contact tracing” since other passengers of Flight EY 0424 were exposed to a suspected carrier, or index passenger, during the flight.

Ona added the DOH would be shouldering the cost of testing and quarantine, if needed, for all passengers who would come forward.

“All those who traveled with our index passenger are still deemed to be at risk, especially if we consider further that they all came from the Middle East, a high-risk area, and that the incubation period is up to 14 days,” he explained.

“Hence, to rule out any possibility of infection, we strongly urge all of other passengers of EY 0424 to immediately submit themselves to testing,” Ona said.

Ona also called on returning Filipino workers from the Middle East to report to the nearest hospital if they experience symptoms similar to indications of the flu.

Still in demand

Despite the coronavirus scare in the Middle East, the recruitment industry sees no decline in the hiring of Filipino workers abroad.

Recruitment leaders yesterday expressed confidence the threat of MERS is not enough to scare away overseas Filipino workers from seeking employment in the Middle East.

The isolated cases of MERS will not discourage OFWs from seeking work abroad as the need of income is greater than their fear of disease, recruitment officials said.

They said medical facilities in the Middle East are highly equipped and manned by competent health experts

Recruitment officials however urged the Philippine government to intensify coordination with OFW groups of foreign recruitment agencies to monitor MERS cases.

At this time, the Philippine government is not inclined to restrict deployment of Filipino workers to UAE or any other Middle East country because of the MERS scare.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the labor department and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration will await the recommendation of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

Baldoz, however, stressed the DFA has yet to issue an alert warning or travel ban to Middle East countries.

“There is no deployment ban, so we continue to process and deploy workers to UAE and other countries in the Middle East,” Baldoz disclosed.

Baldoz said the Department of Labor and Employment and other concerned government agencies are still locating all the passengers of a flight that had on board a Filipino worker previously diagnosed with MERS.

“President Aquino wants all passengers located and tested to ensure that they and their families are safe,” Baldoz said. -Delon Porcalla, Arnell Ozaeta