Philippines: Despite the threat posed by the new corona virus (NCoV), Health Secretary Enrique Ona said yesterday that there is no travel restriction to and from countries where cases have been reported.
Ona also assured the public that the Bureau of Quarantine had been alerted about the NCoV, which has infected 12 people abroad as of February 16.
“The Bureau of Quarantine shall continue to routinely screen inbound passengers, regardless of the country of origin, at ports of entry, for any signs of illness that may require temporary isolation in a health facility or at home,” he said.
Ona has directed hospitals to report to the Department of Health (DOH) if they have suspected cases of NCoV based on a standard report form available at the National Epidemiology Centre.
He noted that patients’ samples may also be sent to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine for confirmatory testing.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recorded 12 cases of human infection with the NCoV in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan and the United Kingdom, including five deaths.
NCoV was first detected in September 2012 in a Qatari man who had a history of travel in Saudi Arabia.
This prompted the WHO to ask nations to look for possible NCoV cases.
The virus belongs to the same family as the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) which first surfaced in China in 2002 but eventually infected some 8,000 people around the world.
The symptoms common to the two viruses include fever, coughing, difficulty breathing and severe respiratory ailments.
“WHO encourages all member states to continue their surveillance for severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) and to carefully review any unusual patterns. Testing for the new corona virus should be considered in patients with unexplained pneumonias, or in patients with unexplained severe, progressive or complicated respiratory illness not responding to treatment,” the agency posted in its website.
But the WHO said that it “does not advise special screening at points of entry with regard to this event nor does it recommend that any travel or trade restrictions be applied.”
According to Ona, the virus may spread through “person to person transmission although it remains not to be highly contagious based on the few patients so far reported.”
“Frequent hand washing, observance of cough etiquette and social distancing may help prevent spread of this disease and similar illnesses,” he added.
THE PHILIPPINE STAR
