2 quarantine camps eyed for Pinoy repatriates from Wuhan

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) is eyeing two military facilities that will serve as quarantine centers for repatriated Filipinos from Wuhan, China, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said yesterday.

Lorenzana said a team of health officials on Friday visited the Philippine Navy base on Caballo Island located at the mouth of Manila Bay in the waters off Cavite.

A DOH team was also scheduled to visit Fort Magsaysay in Laur, Nueva Ecija yesterday to inspect a newly constructed drug rehabilitation facility at the Army camp.

Lorenzana is chairman of the National Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), under which the DOH is one of the attached agencies.

At the height of the 2014 Ebola virus epidemic in North Africa, the DOH and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) used the Caballo naval station to quarantine a returning contingent of Filipino UN peacekeepers from Liberia.

The peacekeepers, while staying at the Caballo naval station for a series of medical examinations, were restricted from making any direct physical contact with their families. None of them tested positive for the Ebola.

The Fort Magsaysay drug rehabilitation center, dubbed as Mega Drug Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation Center, was constructed on a 75,000-hectare property and has a bed capacity of 10,000. It was donated by Chinese billionaire Huang Rulun.  

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said an interagency task force met last Friday to discuss repatriation and quarantine plans for the 40 to 50 Filipinos in China who expressed interest to come home. 

Duque said they agreed to recommend the use of the facility while the repatriates are undergoing quarantine immediately after arrival in the country.

The quarantine period will make sure that the repatriates are not incubating the virus when they arrive in the country.

Duque said before converting the TRC, an “expeditious joint inspection” would be conducted by a composite team led by personnel of the DOH, AFP and Philippine National Police.

“It is provided also that any potential apprehension and resistance from the community, where the repatriation and quarantine site is located, will be addressed by the composite team with the assistance of the Presidential Communication and Operations Office,” Duque said.

He said the task force will recommend to President Duterte that a travel ban be imposed not only on Hubei province but also in other places in China where the novel coronavirus (nCoV) had spread as confirmed by the Chinese government.

Covered by the ban is any person except Filipino citizens and holders of permanent resident visa issued by the Philippine government.

The ban also includes those who, within 14 days immediately preceding arrival in the Philippines, has been to Hubei as well as other places where there are confirmed nCoV cases.  

“Filipino citizens who are currently in China, regardless of which province, will be allowed to return to the Philippines. They will be required to undergo quarantine for 14 days,” he added.  – With Sheila Crisostomo ?

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