‘It was DOH chief’s idea to visit troops in Caballo’

MANILA, Philippines–Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang, the Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff, offered to be quarantined with 132 Filipino peacekeepers who came from Ebola virus-stricken Liberia if only to allay fears that he had unwittingly exposed himself to possible contamination by visiting them on Sunday.

Catapang insisted he did not breach protocol as it was Acting Health Secretary Janette Garin who invited him to check on the peacekeepers and set the protocol.

“I was with [acting Health Secretary Janette] Garin and if Secretary Garin would say we need to be quarantined, then we will follow orders,” Catapang told reporters in an interview in Zamboanga City.

Catapang and Garin drew flak for breaching the protocol on the quarantine of people, who returned from Ebola-stricken countries, by visiting the peacekeepers on Caballo island on Manila Bay “unprotected.” They did not use the required suits, masks and gloves.

The next day, Catapang and key military leaders who joined him in Caballo attended the 75th founding anniversary of the Department of National Defense in Camp Aguinaldo and shook hands with President Aquino and Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin.

Senate Minority Leader Vicente Sotto III said he wanted Catapang and Garin to be quarantined as a precautionary measure since the 21-day mandatory quarantine of the peacekeepers was not yet over.

Sotto said he was worried for Catapang and Garin.

The peacekeepers and all other Filipinos arriving in Manila from Ebola-stricken countries in West Africa will be required to undergo the 21-day quarantine period, within which symptoms of the virus should emerge if a person has been infected.

Which was why the weekend visit of Garin and Catapang to Caballo Island confused the public.

More than 5,000 killed

The year-old epidemic has killed more than 5,000 people and infected about 14,500, mostly in West Africa.

More than 10 million Filipinos work abroad, putting the country under potential threat.

As part of its protective measures, anyone coming from Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone—the countries worst affected by the epidemic—must undergo quarantine.

The quarantine should be observed strictly since the Philippines has a weak healthcare system, according to Dr. Anthony Leachon, president of the Philippine College of Physicians.

“Quarantine is the enforced isolation of healthy individuals who came from an area where there is an epidemic. This is observed within the incubation period, so that means they cannot have contact with anyone,” Leachon said in an interview.

Prohibited

Under the Quarantine Act of 2004, unnecessary travel to quarantine areas is prohibited due to the probability of an outbreak, he said.

“If we violate the quarantine guidelines, you open yourself to possible exposure. You cannot easily tell if you have Ebola or not in the first few days if you are asymptomatic,” Leachon said, citing the case of Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person in the United States to die of Ebola.

He pointed out that Duncan, who came from Liberia, was also at first asymptomatic but later showed symptoms of the dreaded virus.

He added that Garin and Catapang should have worn protective gear “because they will go back into the general population.”

Leachon said Garin and Catapang’s visit to Caballo island could encourage family members of the peacekeepers to demand that they also be allowed to visit the island.

Garin said the quarantine protocol was not violated when she and Catapang visited the peacekeepers.

Garin said it was her duty to ensure that the peacekeepers were provided with proper facilities and medical treatment while on quarantine.

“We did it based on call of duty, based on our judgment. We will not go there if there is a risk of acquiring Ebola,” she said in a press conference.

Duty to allay fears

She said her visit to the peacekeepers was important because she needed to answer questions the soldiers had raised about medical concerns.

“It is also my duty to allay fears of our peacekeepers and help address their medical concerns. We held a discussion with our soldiers and answered the questions they raised,” Garin told reporters.

The acting health secretary called for the press briefing to address observations among medical groups that she and military officials had breached the quarantine protocol.

But Garin said part of the quarantine procedures was to limit the peacekeepers’ interaction to authorized personnel only, meaning medical staff and the AFP.

Protective equipment

She said the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) was necessary only when the patient was already showing signs and symptoms of Ebola. She said wearing PPEs during the visit was not essential since none of the peacekeepers was showing symptoms of Ebola.

“We are saving the PPE as the need arises. It is better that we have PPE available when we already need them,” Garin said.

She said that before the visit, Catapang and members of the military medical corps were given an orientation on the updated Ebola interim guidelines. “Guidelines on the appropriate use of PPEs were reiterated to keep everybody in the loop,” she said.

Appeal to doctors

“At this point, when Ebola is a global public health threat, we cannot allow misinformation that will create unnecessary fear,” she said.

Garin appealed to colleagues in the medical profession to “base their statements on facts and internationally accepted guidelines.”

“Doctors, we count on you and we need you to be part of this campaign. There is no other time for us to work together than now,” she added.

Welcome to drop by Palace

Malacañang sees nothing wrong with the visit of Garin and Catapang to Caballo island.

The two, in fact, are welcome to Malacañang if they have to be there as part of their official duties, Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr.

“If they have to come here as part of their work, why not,” Coloma said.

Coloma found himself echoing Garin’s statement that she, Catapang, and the others who visited the peacekeepers followed the protocols set by the World Health Organization.

“Let’s give them the benefit of the doubt. We are talking about the highest official of the Department of Health and the highest official of the Armed Forces. Before they reached their positions (in government), they went through many years of experience and their decisions are based on reason and by following the right guidelines,” Coloma said.

‘Jolly, strong’

“Our intention was good. There’s nothing we want but assure the community and soldiers that because they are isolated or under quarantine, we cannot talk to them,” Catapang said.

He described the peacekeepers are “healthy, jolly, strong and they have very nice skin.”

Told that he was defeating the purpose of quarantine by visiting the peacekeepers, Catapang said no one from the AFP had advised them against going and that Garin had assured them there would be no problem.

Catapang also came under fire from netizens who feared he could spread the virus in the event one of the peacekeepers manifested contamination.

Invite to media withdrawn

Fearing a backlash of public opinion, Catapang withdrew his invitation to the media to also visit the island and see the peacekeepers.

“For the meantime, we won’t (be pushing through as) we might be adding more anxiety and misunderstanding. We will just hold it for a while,” Catapang said.

On requests of peacekeepers’ families to allow them to visit Caballo island, Catapang said the decision should come from Department of Health officials.–With reports from and Nikko Dizon and AFP