No shore leave for Pinoy seafarers docking in Ebola-affected areas – POEA


Citing the threat of contamination, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration has barred Filipino seafarers from going on shore leave in areas affected by Ebola.

In a statement, POEA Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac said this is among the methods to limit the risk of seafarers being exposed to or contaminated with the virus.

"There will be no shore leave for seafarers and no crew change in the ports of these countries in the meantime," he said in a statement posted on the Official Gazette website Monday.

The POEA also issued guidelines for seafarers and manning agencies in taking precautions against Ebola infection.

Covered by the guidelines are shipping principals or employers with ships operating or calling on Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone ports.

“The guidelines are issued for our seafarers’ welfare and protection. They could be vulnerable to the EVD (Ebola Virus Disease) due to the unavoidable circumstance where they have to interact with shore-based personnel who come on board ships to perform their respective duties,” Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said.

Under the guidelines, the shipping principals shall ensure seafarers are provided with working gear, including personal protective equipment such as masks, gloves, and goggles.

Also, the ship master or the designated ship medical officer will have the responsibility to report any crewmember with symptoms of EVD.

The guidelines require them to report those who have fever, headache, intense weakness, joint and muscle pains, and sore throat to their principal/employer.

In turn, the employers should coordinate with appropriate international marine medical providers to manage an EVD contamination on board.

Before deployment

The POEA also requested principals, employers and manning agencies to disseminate the following recommendations from the International Maritime Employers’ Council (IMEC), International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), and the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) to their ships and hired seafarers prior to deployment:
  • The Master must ensure that the crew are aware of the risks, how the virus can be spread and how to mitigate the risk
  • The ISPS Code requirements on ensuring that unauthorized personnel are not allowed to board the ship should be strictly enforced throughout the duration of the ship’s stay in port
  • After departure, the crew should be aware of the symptoms and report any occurring symptoms immediately to the persons/authorities in charge of medical are onboard

The POEA also requires principals, employers, and manning agencies to report any incident of EVD contamination on any of their ships.

Reports should contain complete details of the crew affected and the actions taken by the company. They shall be submitted through e-mail to the Office of the POEA Administrator, who in turn shall provide copies of the report to the Departments of Health and Foreign Affairs and the Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration.

Meanwhile, Baldoz directed the POEA and all concerned to help disseminate the POEA guidelines and advisories on EVD to eliminate apprehension among seafarers regarding possible EVD contamination:

- Department of Health (DOH) Ebola Advisory (in Filipino)

- World Health Organization (WHO) Ebola Virus Disease Fact Sheet No. 103

— Joel Locsin/JDS, GMA News

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more