Quarantine bureau adopts measures against nCoV

ILOILO CITY -- The Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ)-Iloilo Station has assured Ilonggos on Wednesday the Iloilo International Airport in Cabatuan town is guarded against possible entry of the novel coronavirus (2019nCoV).

The BOQ performs thermal scanning to incoming international passengers from Hong Kong and Singapore where confirmed cases of 2019-nCoV were reported, Dr. Percy Catedrilla Jr., medical officer 3 of BOQ-Iloilo, said in an interview.

Flights from Hong Kong to Iloilo are on Mondays and Fridays while flights from Singapore are on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

“We do the thermal scanning every time there are international flights in the airport and at the same time if there are international flights carried by a chartered aircraft from outside the country,” Catedrilla said.

He said international passengers have been cooperative with health and government officials as they are aware and educated about the virus. On Tuesday, Catedrilla met with Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. to tackle the preventive measures on the entry of the virus through the Iloilo International Airport. Catedrilla said Defensor discussed to the BOQ-Iloilo their role in proper monitoring, surveillance, and ways to handle cases if there are any. The governor has recently issued an executive order “implementing strict quarantine procedures and other disease prevention and control measures to protect the province of Iloilo from the novel coronavirus (2019nCoV) and other similar strains.” The order sought for the BOQ to implement mandatory accomplishment of the passenger declaration and health declaration card of those entering the province both by domestic and international flights or vessels. The said health card will help officials track down the health history and the previous destination of travelers. Catedrilla confirmed that the BOQ-Iloilo will activate its health declaration checklist in screening the passengers. The Iloilo International Airport is manned by three to four BOQ personnel daily consisting of a quarantine officer, quarantine nurse, and driver in case there are patients to be referred to the hospital, he said. “If there is a passenger that has traveled to affected countries or cities, and manifests fever, we will bring him or her to West Visayas Medical Center for tests and proper laboratory,” he said. (PNA)