ILOILO City – To help detect people possibly infected with the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), airports and seaports should use thermal scanners that measure body temperature, according to the Regional Development Council (RDC) and Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC) in Western Visayas.
Fever is one of the symptoms of the 2019-nCoV infection which originated in Wuhan City, China and has so far killed 564 people and infected 28,018.
The RDC and RPOC wanted a tighter screening of people entering the region through airports and seaports in a bid to keep Western Visayas free from the virus.
The RDC and RPOC held a joint meeting yesterday at the National Economic and Development Authority Building here.
Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. of Iloilo, the RPOC chairperson, said his provincial government was ready to procure forehead thermometers for the seaports in the municipalities of Dumangas and Estancia if procuring thermal scanners was not viable.
The Iloilo Airport in Cabatuan, Iloilo already has two thermal scanners being used by Bureau of Quarantine personnel screening arriving airline passengers.
Other airports in the region are the Kalibo International Airport, Boracay Airport, Roxas City Airport, and Bacolod-Silay Airport.
Airline companies must have thermal scanners, too, stressed the councils.
The RDC and RPOC also called on airport and seaport managements to implement the Health Declaration Card provided by the Department of Health (DOH).
Arriving airline and ship passengers must fill out the cards that ask, among others, their travel and health histories, among others.
According to Dr. Marlyn Convocar, regional director of the Department of Health, information stated in the cards would make contact tracing of passengers faster and more efficient.
The councils also urged the Department of Education to order schools to procure soaps, disinfectants, etc. for the use of students, and for the DOH to issue guidelines to tertiary schools which have students assigned in hospitals as part of their training on the manner of handling suspected cases of novel coronavirus.
As of Feb. 4, DOH Region 6 recorded a total of 10 persons under investigation (PUI) for nCoV in Western Visayas. Six of these PUIs were from Aklan, two from Negros Occidental, and two from Iloilo City.
PUIs are individuals who have fever or respiratory infection and a history of travel to China within the last 14 days or a history of exposure to a confirmed 2019-nCoV case.
DOH data showed that seven of the 10 PUI were already discharged from the hospital while five were already tested negative for the 2019-nCoV. The test results of the others were yet to be released.
DOH-6 emphasized that it was closely working with local government units and concerned government agencies to intensify case detection and surveillance as well as infection prevention and control measures.
Those who have travelled to countries with positive 2019-nCoV cases are encouraged to coordinate with their local health offices and have themselves checked should they experience fever or respiratory diseases./PN
