... in response to Wait a couple more weeks, posted by Ray on Apr 9, 2003Airport main quarantine area for SARS cases
By Jonathan M. Hicap, Correspondent
The Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) will be the key quarantine area in preventing the entry of persons suspected of having severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
As part of the government’s efforts to keep the country SARS-free, airport authorities have started giving out to arriving passengers leaflets containing a health screening advisory from the World Health Organization (WHO).
President Arroyo on Friday named Edgardo Manda, the NAIA general manager as part of the SARS management team that will handle possible cases of the disease.
NAIA advises travelers to report promptly to any doctor if they fall ill with the combination of SARS symptoms during their travel or after returning home.
A sick passenger identified in flight would be referred to airport health authorities for a check up. Fellow passengers and plane crew will be asked to provide NAIA all their contact details for the next two weeks for surveillance and monitoring.
The SARS scare did not stop Filipinos from leaving for jobs abroad. According to data released by NAIA on passenger traffic at Terminals 1 and 2, a total of 43,728 Filipino workers left the country from March 16 to April 3, an average of 2,300 a day.
A total of 184,066 passengers departed from NAIA in the same period, and there were 186,114 arrivals.
The SARS management team, led by Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit, met in Malacañang yesterday. At the meeting, Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas reported that seven Filipino workers in Singapore had been discharged from hospitals after examination showed they had no SARS.
Dayrit, on the other hand, told the President that although the country has no specialized method of identifying SARS carriers, the Department of Health uses a process of elimination to separate those that have no SARS and those suspected of carrying the disease.
The President assured the public that the country has enough expertise and resources to handle an outbreak of SARS. “In the event of an outbreak, the San Lazaro Hospital and Research Institute of Tropical Medicine will be at the apex of the hospital system that is properly equipped to handle the influx of a large numbers of cases,” she said.
She also laid down three components that would be used by the SARS management team in ensuring that the disease would not enter the country:
• A rapid identification, isolation and management of suspected SARS cases in hospitals nationwide;
• The prevention of the entry into the country and spread of possible cases through an effective quarantine system at ports of entry;
• A communication system that will not only manage the flow of vital information to the public but handle public anxiety as well.
The President also called on the people to remain calm but prepare for the worst, and reminded them not to believe in text messages or e-mail that spread false and alarming information about SARS.
“I enjoin everyone to contribute to our collective effort to manage the situation. Do not entertain rumors spread by text messages, e-mails or any other means. If you have any concerns, call up any of our SARS hot lines for information or help,” she said.
“Let us be calm but prepare for the worst. This was our policy for the Iraq war and we are reaping the dividends of our collective efforts. Education, information, alertness, sobriety and a sense of public responsibility among all Filipinos—these are what we need today,” she added.
Other members of the SARS management team are Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Lauro Baja, Immigration Commissioner Andrea Domingo, Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Ed Soliman, Press Undersecretary Milton Alingod, Cmdr. Ruben Lista of the Coast Guard and Dr. Jaime Montoya of the Philippine Society of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.
National Security Adviser Roilo Golez will advise the team.
With Ma. Theresa Torres
