BQ 7 Raises Alert on Mers-CoV at Mactan Airport

The Bureau of Quarantine (BQ) 7 has heightened its alert status in implementing a daily screening procedure on passengers at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) in Lapu-Lapu City due to the reported Middle East Respiratory Syndrome- Corona Virus (Mers-CoV) outbreak in South Korea.

MCIA Quarantine Officer Terrence Bermejo said all alert status are in place and that they are hoping that no Mers-CoV carrier would enter Cebu, the most favored travel destination for Koreans.

“The Ministry of Health in Korea is active in giving strict measures. We are really monitoring passengers from Korea, “he said.

A heightened alert status was also implemented last year due to Ebola virus.

Bermejo said their office conduct daily thermal screening procedures not only for Koreans but also for other international passengers bound for Cebu.

An estimated 2,000 to 3,000 Koreans visit Cebu daily.

He said the health declaration checklist requires basic and pertinent information to be listed by each passenger such as name, age, country of origin and whether they felt any symptoms of fever and cough.

“We let them list their contact information so they can be easily traced,” Bermejo sad.

GMR Megawide Cebu Airport Corporation, which operates MCIA, in its official statement, said: “GMCAC relies on the passengers to declare and notify health authorities for any symptoms of MERS and other notified diseases.”

GMCAC corporate communications junior manager Malou Mozo said MCIA caters to 2,100 Korean passengers per day.

There are seven flights daily to Incheon and Busan, Korea from Cebu and vice versa.

Among the airlines with flights to Korea from Cebu are Korean Air, Jeju Air and Cebu Pacific.

Department of Tourism (DOT) 7 reported that Korea is the region’s top tourist market, with Koreans comprising 43 percent of Central Visayas’ overall tourist market. (PNA) FPV/EB/EDS