BI officers in ports to wear N95 masks amid suspected coronavirus case

Passengers walk past a thermal scanner at the medical quarantine area at the arrival section of Manila’s International Airport in Paranaque. AP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Agents of the Bureau of Immigration assigned in ports were mandated to wear N95 masks after the Department of Health (DOH) reported that a five-year-old child was tested positive for an unidentified coronavirus strain.

“As a preventive measure, all officers in ports of entry and exit were advised to wear masks as there is a risk of exposure given the nature of their jobs,” BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval said in a text message on Tuesday.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III earlier revealed that the DOH is investigating the case of a boy from Wuhan, China who was admitted in a Cebu hospital for having fever, throat irritation and cough prior to entering the Philippines.

The samples from the child tested positive for non-specific pancorona virus test but it was sent to Australia to determine its specific coronavirus strain.

In China, the new strain of coronavirus infected more than 200 people. Of the number, four people died due to the outbreak.

Edited by JPV