CLOSE MONITORING. Quarantine personnel intensify monitoring the health condition of arriving passengers at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport through thermal cameras. Vice Mayor Michael Rama on Thursday (Jan. 30, 2020) announced the creation of the Cebu City Council Task Force Coronavirus that will deal with the deadly virus, as the DOH confirmed that a nCoV patient is currently confined in the city. (PNA file photo)
CEBU CITY - Amid report of the first confirmed case of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in the Philippines, the Cebu City Council has created a task force that will deal with the new strain of the deadly virus, an official here said on Thursday.
Vice Mayor Michael Rama said in a radio interview that while city officials avoid becoming alarmists, they have decided to create the task force as a proactive stance to prevent the spread of the viral disease here.
The Cebu City Council Task Force Coronavirus conducted a coordination meeting on Thursday along with officials of the Department of Health (DOH), City Health Office and the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office.
They tackled the protocol on how the city will handle the medical concern.
“Either positive or negative, we will all be seeing beyond what the virus can do. The draft executive order will be submitted to the mayor for his signature. This will become somehow a template not only for the coronavirus but a protocol on how to handle other diseases,” Rama said.
He said the structure of the task force will stay even if the new coronavirus would be totally eliminated in the locality.
Rama also said they will conduct information and education campaign about the effect of the virus in case it infects local residents.
DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III on Thursday said a 38-year-old Chinese national who traveled to the cities of Cebu and Dumaguete was confirmed to be infected with the 2019-nCoV.
He said the patient was admitted to a government hospital last Jan. 25 after experiencing mild cough, adding that she has no fever and no signs and symptoms suggesting illness.
In a press conference, he said that the woman arrived in Manila from Hong Kong on January 21.
Duque assured the DOH continues “to guarantee the public that all necessary precautionary measures are being taken to halt the spread of the virus.”
DOH Epidemiology Bureau director Chito Avelino said health authorities have begun tracking people who may have been exposed to the patient.
He said they would also trace details of the woman’s flights and track passengers who were seated near her.
So far, 23 other individuals are considered PUI (person under investigation) and are still hospitalized. In the meantime, five have been placed under strict monitoring.
The new strain of coronavirus has killed at least 170 and infected nearly 8,000 people across Asia, Europe, North America, and the Middle East. (PNA)
