PNP readies Crame hospital for possible Ebola case

Camp Crame. FILE PHOTO

The Philippine National Police is readying its hospital in Camp Crame for any possible case of Ebola virus infection, especially among the Filipino UN peacekeepers returning to the country next month from Liberia.

Chief Insp. Raymond Santos, head of the PNP hospital’s emergency services department, said they were currently preparing isolation rooms for patients afflicted with the virus.

“We are finishing our preparation of the isolation rooms, we are preparing for it,” the official said in a press briefing in Camp Crame on Friday.

The PNP has a contingent of 30 members—five of them women— on a UN peacekeeping mission in Liberia, where an Ebola outbreak recently forced the closure of most of its borders. The 30 PNP personnel are expected to come home after finishing their tour of duty in October this year.

Earlier, the PNP maintained that its team in the West African state— composed of 16 officials and 14 noncommissioned officers—remained uninfected and that measures were in place to ensure they remain Ebola-free.

To monitor the peacekeepers’ health in view of the Ebola outbreak, the PNP requires periodic medical updates from Liberia to be sent to Manila.

The Filipino peacekeepers are advised to strictly avoid direct physical contact with infected or deceased persons, wash hands frequently with soap and water, and take other basic precautions.

“The PNP is closely coordinating with the Department of Health (DOH) for other preemptive actions such as the conduct of post-arrival medical examinations on all returning peacekeepers to prevent possible infection in the country,” said the PNP spokesperson, Chief Supt. Reuben Theodore Sindac.

The PNP is also ready to assist the DOH in locating suspected carriers of the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus around the country, Santos said. “We assist the health department in that aspect, in providing security.”