Bohol execs hold emergency meeting after suspected coronavirus cases reported

Acting Bohol Gov. Rene Relampagos presides over an emergency meeting at the Capitol on Wednesday afternoon after two Chinese nationals were suspected to have a coronavirus. (Leo Udtohan/Inquirer Visayas)

TAGBILARAN CITY—The provincial government of Bohol called for an emergency meeting on Wednesday (Jan. 22) following reports that two Chinese nationals, who were in the province as tourists, had been suspected of carrying the deadly coronavirus.

The meeting, presided over by acting Gov. Rene Relampagos, was attended by airport and port officials and officials of the Bureau of Quarantine, the provincial disaster office and other agencies.

It was called to determine the province’s readiness in dealing with coronavirus, a deadly disease which originated from China.

Relampagos said the two Chinese, a child aged 2 and an adult aged 36, had been reported carrying the virus.

The two-year-old child was brought to the Governor Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital while the other one was brought to a private hospital after both showed symptoms of coronavirus.

The two Chinese national, however, were eventually released from the hospital and allowed to go home.

“There is no cause for alarm,” said Relampagos. “We are on top of the situation,” he said.

He said officials needed to tightly monitor cases of coronavirus in the province which is visited by tourists of different nationalities, but mostly Chinese and Koreans.

The provincial government, Relampagos said, created a technical working group as there had been no guidelines yet from the Department of Health (DOH) on how to address cases of coronavirus, whether suspected or confirmed.

Ritchie Dela Fuente, a medical officer, said the Bohol-Panglao International Airport (BPIA) had adjusted medical quarantine protocol to prevent the entry of coronavirus in Bohol.

Dela Fuente said thermal scanners are available to monitor arriving passengers. “We are doing our best,” he said.

The BPIA has two thermal scannners but only one is in use.

The thermal scanner is available only at the international arrivals section.

There are no thermal scanners in the province’s ports.

An individual with body temperature of 36.5 degrees Celsius would set off the scanner’s alarm.

If that happens, the passenger’s temperature would be checked again with a digital thermometer to confirm if he or she has fever

The BPIA services two flights from China every week—Mondays and Fridays.

Edited by TSB