2 military camps eyed as quarantine areas for suspected nCoV ‘carriers’
Credit to Author: Dempsey Reyes| Date: Sat, 01 Feb 2020 02:24:28 +0000
THE government is eyeing the drug rehabilitation facility of Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija and Caballo Island as quarantine areas for Filipinos who will be coming home from Wuhan and other areas in China affected by the novel coronavirus (nCoV), Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said on Friday.
“They are looking at both areas. No decision yet,” Lorenzana told reporters in response to a query about the plan.
Lorenzana’s statement comes after the Department of Health confirmed the first nCoV case in the Philippines.
Wuhan is the center of the nCoV outbreak and work place of over 100 Filipinos.
Fort Magsaysay is a military reservation where soldiers undergo training.
It also houses the Philippine Army’s 7th Infantry Division, the Army Aviation Battalion and the Special Operations Command.
Caballo near Corregidor Island is an entry point to Manila Bay.
Caballo Island was used in 2014 by Filipino peacekeepers who were quarantined after they were exposed to the Ebola virus during an outbreak in Liberia.
It is currently occupied by the Philippine Navy.
PMA off limits to tourists
Meanwhile, the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) was closed temporarily to visitors over fears brought by the Wuhan virus.
“[T]he Academy, in coordination with the Baguio local government and health authorities, will be temporarily closed to visitors until further notice,” said Capt. Cherryl Tindog, PMA spokesman.
“This is a proactive measure to safeguard the health and safety of our cadets and the general public from the [2019-nCoV],” Tindog said.
She noted that parents and other relatives would be allowed to visit the plebes but must be supervised by health practitioners at the PMA.