Palace: Gov’t Providing Assistance to Filipinos in Areas Affected by MERS Coronavirus

MANILA- Malacañang assured on Tuesday that the government continues to provide assistance to Filipinos based in areas where there is incidence of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus.

Presidential Communication Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. told a Palace media briefing that last April 12, the Department of Foreign Affairs dispatched an assistance-to-nationals team to Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates to determine the condition of the Filipinos reported to have contracted the infection.

Al Ain is about one-and-a-half hours travel from the capital Abu Dhabi.

Coloma said the Philippine Embassy is also coordinating continuously with health authorities of Abu Dhabi in monitoring cases of Filipinos possibly affected by the virus.

He added that the DFA also urged Filipino nationals there to heed the advice given by health authorities.

The PCOO chief, citing an advisory from the Department of Health (DOH), said that so far, there are still no travel restrictions to and from the Middle East countries as there is no epidemic or outbreak.

However, he said that Filipinos travelling to the Middle East are advised to avoid contact with persons showing influenza-like illness and to observe frequent hand-washing as a health precaution.

As for those returning from the Middle East who became ill within two weeks upon arrival, Coloma said that the DOH advised them to delay visits to crowded places and to seek immediate medical attention.

He said that hospitals have been instructed to report to the DOH any patient who may be suspected to have contracted the MERS coronavirus infection.

All other persons who recently traveled to the Middle East and are presently experiencing severe respiratory illness should be tested for the MERS coronavirus infection at the nearest hospital, the PCOO chief quoted the DOH.

He said that the MERS coronavirus cases are reported to the National Epidemiology Center, and the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine confirms the diagnosis while the Bureau of Quarantine continues to screen travelers at the points of entry.

As of April 10, a Filipino worker had died from a confirmed case attributed to MERS coronavirus while five other Filipinos remain in quarantine as a precaution. (PNA) SCS/ANP

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