Visayas, Mindanao ready measures vs Wuhan virus

ON ALERT Residents from Davao City wear facemasks in the Island Garden City of Samal,where the local government has barred tourists from territories with cases of the novel coronavirus infection. BING GONZALES

Local government officials in the Visayas and Mindanao have put up their own measures to protect their constituents from the dreaded 2019 coronavirus (nCoV) after the companion of the infected 38-year-old woman, the country’s index case or “Patient 0,” died of pneumonia.

Both national and local officials are scrambling to trace their activities, who arrived from Wuhan City in China through Hong Kong in Manila on Jan. 21.

They had gone to Cebu and Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, before returning to Manila where the woman got sick and was diagnosed to have been infected by the Wuhan virus.

Governors Roel Degamo of Negros Oriental and Gwendolyn Garcia of Cebu issued separate executive orders outlining precautions, including a 14-day quarantine for arriving passengers from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.

Humane way

But Chinese tourists continued to arrive in several tourist spots in the country.

Garcia said she could not impose a ban on foreign nationals traveling to Cebu since this would have an implication on foreign relations. “I believe that quarantine will be a humane way to address this emergency,” she said in a statement.

Degamo, for his part, ordered the creation of a Hospital Incident Command System to ensure the safety of all responders, address all concerns, and coordinate with the Department of Health (DOH) and other government agencies.

In Guimaras, Gov. Samuel Gumarin issued his own executive order on Friday and ordered the province’s five mayors to bar the entry and tours of guests without clearance from the DOH and Bureau of Quarantine to protect the island’s residents and slumping tourism industry.

Gumarin, a physician, said tourists from China and countries with confirmed nCoV cases will be checked at the four ports of the island as well as the beach resorts in Jordan, Nueva Valencia, Buenavista, San Lorenzo and Sibunag.

14 patients monitored

Officials in Mindanao also mounted precautionary measures over the weekend with health authorities closely monitoring cases with flu-like symptoms.

In the Northern Mindanao and Caraga regions, authorities are monitoring at least 14 patients with flu-like symptoms, of which seven are in Siargao Island.

Surigao del Norte Gov. Francisco T. Matugas ordered the registration of all travelers at the province’s ports of entry and visitors will be required to list down nationality, history of travel and the hotel where they will stay.

In Southern Mindanao, the twice weekly direct flight between the cities of Davao and Jinjiang in Fujian, China, will be suspended after a scheduled arrival on Feb. 5.

The route was launched in 2018, in keeping with a sisterhood pact between the two cities and has since helped boost tourist arrivals into the Davao region.

In Samal City, which has banned the entry of foreigners from territories with nCoV cases, the city government planned to buy thermal scanners to hasten the screening of people entering the island.

Samal Mayor Al David Uy hoped the epidemic will soon end so the city’s tourism industry can recover through the expected influx of visitors during the summer.

In Cagayan de Oro, health officials are also preparing medical facilities for possible nCoV cases, according to Dr. Lorraine Nery of the City Health Office, and the local government-owned J.R. Borja General Hospital has set up a special triage for patients.

In General Santos, Dr. Rochelle Oco, acting city health officer, said airport and quarantine workers are strictly monitoring arriving passengers and the city has also formed a task force against nCoV.

In the Bangsamoro region, the interim parliament has asked the ministries and component local governments to prepare measures to protect the people from the virus.—With reports from Irma Faith Pal, Nestor P. Burgos Jr., Dale Israel and Carla P. Gomez, Bong S. Sarmiento, Edwin O. Fernandez, Erwin Mascariñas, Jigger J. Jerusalem, Orlando B. Dinoy, Pam Orias and Ryan D. Rosauro