CBCP asks DOH to intensify info drive vs MERS-Cov

An official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has asked the Department of Health (DOH) to further intensify its information campaign against the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-Cov).

Fr. Jerome Secillano, executive secretary of the CBCP Public Affairs Committee, said there was a need for the DOH to intensify its campaign to prevent the spread of the dreaded disease.

“Since the virus has apparently already entered our shores, the government must make sure that it has the resources and the capacity to treat it and prevent it from further spreading,” he said in an interview.

“The DOH and other concerned agencies should intensify their campaign, first, in informing the people what the virus is all about and lastly, on how to avoid contamination,” added Secillano.

He said this was also to ensure that citizens will not be exposed to the disease.

“We do not want our citizens to be exposed to such a dangerous disease. The government must therefore exercise due diligence in making sure that MERS-Cov would not threaten the health and security of our people,” Secillano said.

On Monday, the DOH announced the second confirmed case of MERS-Cov in the country.

The Health department said the foreigner with travel history in the Middle East has been found positive of MERS-Cov last Saturday after undergoing tests at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM).

The patient is already confined in isolation at the RITM.

MERS-Cov is a disease that was first discovered in Saudi Arabia in 2012 and is believed to have come from camels.

The virus can be acquired through close contact and air droplets such as through coughing and sneezing.