DOH braces for local COVID-19 transmission

MANILA, Philippines — Local transmission of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) may be inevitable, as observed now in nine other countries, prompting the Department of Health (DOH) to brace for the possibility of community outbreaks in the Philippines.

At a press conference yesterday, DOH Undersecretary Eric Domingo said all three confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Philippines at present are “imported,” but preparations are underway for a local spread of the virus at the community level.

“We can already see that local transmission is happening in other countries,” Domingo pointed out. “These developments are compelling reasons to prepare mitigation mechanisms for the possibility of community spread (in the Philippines).”

Local transmission has been reported in Australia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.

As of noon yesterday, Domingo said there were 408 persons under investigation (PUIs) for COVID-19 and 240 of them are Filipinos. Ninety-eight are Chinese, eight are Americans and 50 others are of different nationalities.

So far, 208 have tested negative for the virus, while 197 are still awaiting confirmatory laboratory tests if they have been infected, like the three Chinese who tested positive for COVID-19 in the Philippines.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has signified that all countries should get ready because they have been seeing local transmission of the virus in several countries, even those that are very far from China.

“We always have that at the back of our minds that it will and can happen. That’s why we are preparing our hospitals that if cases increase significantly, we might have to change strategies and we should be ready,” Domingo said.

DOH readiness

Domingo gave assurance that the country is ready to address the possibility of local transmission of COVID-19 in the sense that there is a hospital system.

“We have isolation rooms. Right now, these rooms are full because we admit even the PUIs. If more people get sick, there will be changes in the indication for admission,” he said.

Citing how Singapore is addressing the situation, the DOH official said only patients with severe manifestations of the virus will be admitted in hospitals.

In terms of diagnosing patients, he said the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) has four “sub-national reference centers that can do testing on possible cases of COVID-19.”

These are the Southern Philippine Medical Center in Davao del Sur (Mindanao), Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City (Visayas), Baguio City General Hospital (northern Luzon) and the San Lazaro Hospital in Manila.

The RITM is now accrediting private laboratories that have capabilities to do the testing.

“Many private hospitals want to apply for accreditation, saying that they have PCR (polymerase chain reaction) capability and trained personnel to do the testing. We just have to make sure the tests that will come out from their labs will be valid,” Domingo said.

The DOH is also waiting for the WHO to validate a rapid testing kit that will scale up the testing capabilities to validate suspected coronavirus cases.

Domingo added their supplies for personal protective equipment (PPE) for health workers will last for one to two months.

At present, the DOH has requested for a supplemental budget of P2 billion that will be used to procure PPEs. This, however, is still pending approval of Congress.

Contact tracing

Based on data prepared by the DOH-Epidemiology Bureau, 455 close contacts of the three COVID-19 cases in the country have already been traced.

A total of 277 of the contacts have been interviewed and 44 of them are now considered PUIs for manifesting symptoms of the disease. The 233 were advised to undergo home quarantine.

Domingo said only 246 out of the 731 close contacts of the third COVID-19 carrier – a 60-year-old Chinese female – have been reached so far.

He added the number of PUIs ballooned because all of her co-passengers in the fast craft that she took from Cebu to Bohol were considered suspected cases.

New Clark City

He also confirmed that two repatriates from Hubei province – a one-year-old boy and a 34-year-old woman – were taken to the Jose B. Lingad Memorial General Hospital in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga.

They suffered from diarrhea and abdominal discomfort, but later tested negative for COVID-19.

They have been sent back to New Clark City, Capas, Tarlac to complete the 14-day quarantine period.

“We are checking on our repatriates twice a day to ensure that they are being properly cared for,” said Domingo, adding that their mental wellbeing is also being addressed.

Travel restriction

At this point, the DOH said it is for the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases to decide whether or not countries that developed local transmission of COVID-19 are to be included in the Philippines’ travel ban.

WHO Philippines Representative Rabindra Abeyasinghe reiterated that they leave it up to the governments – in this case the Philippines – “to decide independently based on their risk and travel patterns whether they want to put travel restriction.”

“WHO’s position has always been that there be no travel restriction,” Abeyasinghe said.

Asked for his opinion on the advisory issued by the DOH to discourage concerts and public events or gatherings, the WHO official maintained that this is “an internal policy decision that the government has made.”

“As you are aware to the best of our knowledge, there is no community level transmission in the Philippines, but taking measures to prevent congregation of large of people is an accepted measure,” he said.

2 ships quarantined

In Bataan, at least 30 crewmembers of two cargo vessels from China have been placed under quarantine in the towns of Mariveles and Morong.

Lt. Airland Lapitan, Coast Guard Bataan Station commander, said the other day that the entire crew of the vessel in Mariveles completed their 14-day quarantine for COVID-19.

M/V BMC Catherine, loaded with cement, left Mariveles port on Monday after its crew were cleared by the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ), said Lapitan.

“So far, we have inspected two vessels that came from China. One just left yesterday (Monday) from Mariveles, while the other is docked in Nagbalayong, Morong and under quarantine,” Lapitan told The STAR last Tuesday.

He said strict monitoring and quarantine protocols for all arriving vessels have been in place to combat the spread of COVID-19.

The BOQ clearance, Lapitan said, is now required for the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to clear a vessel for departure.

Like M/V BMC Catherine, the crude oil tanker Vissai VCT 02 had its last port call in China before arriving in Bataan. All its crewmembers, numbering about 15, are still under quarantine but the PCG did not disclose until when.

“Actually, we’re very strict in monitoring every vessel transiting our area. At the same time, we render a situation report every six hours to our mother unit (on the status of the vessel and its crew),” Lapitan said.

The report contains the name of the vessel, date of arrival in the port, current location and other status like the boarding by quarantine officers to check on the crew, he said.

Diplomatic corps briefing

Also yesterday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) convened members of the diplomatic corps and international organizations to discuss government efforts and guidelines to ensure public health and safety from the threat of the coronavirus.

A total of 62 participants from 40 diplomatic missions and 13 international organizations attended the event.

The DFA conducted the briefing to inform the diplomatic community and international organizations that the Philippine government is implementing all possible measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the country and to address concerns of foreign nationals.

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for civilian security and consular concerns Brigido Dulay called for continued coordination and cooperation between the Philippine government and the foreign missions in the Philippines to address the global health emergency.

Health Assistant Secretary Maria Rosario Vergeire of the Public Health Services Team of the DOH gave a presentation on the latest developments in the country with regard to arresting the spread of COVID-19.

Representatives of other agencies also gave the group a briefing from the operation of ports to quarantine procedures and air and sea travel protocols. – With Ric Sapnu, Pia Lee-Brago