By Emme Rose Santiagudo and Felipe V. Celino
The Iloilo City government ordered the implementation of strict quarantine procedures and surveillance of all incoming foreign and domestic vessels to ensure that the city remains free from the threats of the 2019 novel coronavirus acute respiratory disease (nCoV ARD).
Mayor Jerry Treñas issued Executive Order No. 33 on Friday ordering strict quarantine procedures, including disease prevention and control measures, to ensure maximum security in all entry points to the city.
“To protect Iloilo City from the introduction and spread of the novel coronavirus, there is a need for the city government to strictly implement intensified information and education campaigns, additional quarantine, heightened surveillance, and other disease prevention and control measures,” the EO stated.
Under the EO, the Bureau of Quarantine (BoQ) of the Department of Health (DOH) shall conduct quarantine inspection, surveillance and clearance on all foreign domestic vessels in all ports of Iloilo City despite securing clearance from other ports in the country.
The inspection covers all cruise ships, cargo, containers, bulk carriers, tankers, and including passengers.
The mayor has also ordered the Bureau of Customs, City Health Office (CHO), and BOQ to require all passengers and crew aboard foreign and domestic airports and vessels arriving in Iloilo City to accomplish the health declaration checklist.
To follow through the monitoring of possible cases, the EO also mandated the CHO to collaborate with the barangay officials to organize and mobilize their Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams (BHERTs).
“Each BHERT shall be composed of an Executive Officer, a barangay tanod, and two barangay health workers all appointed by the punong barangay. The BHERTs shall be responsible for monitoring and recording returning residents and transients with history of travel from affected countries positive for n-CoV,” the EO said.
Tourism establishments such as hotels, pension houses, motels, and transient accommodations shall monitor and record guests with travel history from countries with positive 2019 nCoV cases.
To oversee the implementation of the following measures, the mayor has also issued a separate EO creating the Novel Coronavirus Task Force in the city.
The task force which will be headed by Dr. Roland Jay Fortuna of the CHO is tasked to conduct information dissemination.
The task force will also help in supervising and providing logistical assistance to the BHERTs.
NEGATIVE
Meanwhile, health authorities reported that 8 persons under investigation (PUI) for 2019-nCoV infection are still admitted in hospitals while 15 have been discharged after being cleared of the virus.
The number is based on the daily monitoring report issued by the DOH regional office as of Feb 9, 2020.
Also, 16 PUIs tested negative for the virus while the results of 7 others are still pending.
Among those who tested negative for the virus were two PUIs in Capiz, according to the results released by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM).
In an official statement released on Feb 10, 2020, the Provincial Health Office (PHO) confirmed that RITM test results cleared the two PUIs of the infection.
The result of the first PUI was released Saturday while the second was released Monday. They have been released from the hospitals.
Capiz Governor Esteban Evan Nonoy Contreras said he was happy with the negative result but he advised the public not to be complacent as the 2019-nCov is still a major public concern.
