Stricter measures up for Pinoys from MidEast amid MERS-CoV scare

The government will be stricter in allowing the entry of Filipinos arriving from the Middle East as a measure to keep the country free of the dreaded Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV).

A report on "24 Oras" Wednesday night said those who will be affected by this precautionary measure are Filipinos who are still waiting for the results of the tests conducted on them in their host countries.

“Let's say you are examined for a test in any of those areas, whether it's in Jeddah, in Dubai or Abu Dhabi, hindi ka dapat makaalis until such time that the test [result] is negative,” said Health Secretary Enrique Ona in the report.

MERS-CoV is a novel virus often referred to as the Middle East’s own version of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Symptoms of MERS include fever, cough, shortness of breath, and even diarrhea.

Despite this, the government has not imposed travel restrictions to the Middle East, the report said.

The Department of Labor and Employment, however, is urged to create programs that will raise awareness about MERS-CoV for Filipinos departing for the Middle East.

“Code white”

Meanwhile, the Health Department's Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) is under code white after the recent suspected cases in the country that required testing.

“Ibig sabihin yung RITM ay tumatanggap ng mga referrals for patients who are suspected of having MERS-CoV,” RITM division head Dr. Mari Rose Delos Reyes said in the same “24 Oras” report.

The RITM's east ward now serves as an isolation area for suspected cases of MERS-CoV. As of Wednesday, 13 people were quarantined here, all of them passengers of Etihad Flight EY 424 where a male Filipino nurse suspected to be infected with the virus was on board.

The nurse from the Middle East, who arrived in the country last week, was initially diagnosed with MERS-CoV but was declared negative for the virus after tests.

Only 42 among the 440 passengers of the said flight have not yet been contacted by the Department of Health. — Andrei Medina/KBK, GMA News

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