Trace on for over 300 people in contact with 2 nCoV victims
Credit to Author: Darwin Pesco| Date: Wed, 05 Feb 2020 06:20:54 +0000
THE Philippine National Police (PNP), through its Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), will start tracing over 300 passengers of the flights who may have come into contact with two Chinese who tested positive for the novel coronavirus acute respiratory disease (2019-nCoV-ARD).
READ: ‘Find the passengers’
CIDG Director Joel Napoleon Coronel, in a press briefing on Wednesday, said more than 50 of the 331 passengers who were on three flights with the two Chinese have been accounted for and contacted out of 331 total passengers.
Coronel said that the police would assist the Department of Health (DoH) in contacting all the passengers within 48 hours with the help of local police and Civil Aviation Board (CAB).
Coronel said the two victims from nCoV-hit Wuhan, China took three flights from January 21 to 25.
The two, Coronel said, took the first flight from Hong Kong to Cebu on January 21 through Flight 5J 241
They were on board Flight DG 6519 from Cebu to Dumaguete.
On January 25, the two took Flight PR 2542 from Dumaguete to Manila.
“We contact them, inform them they were on board of the flight and then, determine their physical and medical condition,” Coronel told the reporters.
The list of passengers from the airline companies was given by the DoH, Coronel said.
Included in the passengers’ information were their email addresses, cellphone numbers, and residence, Coronel said.
Coronel said the authorities would go to the addresses indicated by the passengers and inform them that they were on the same flight with the two nCoV victims.
“The first priority as of this time are those manifesting symptoms and we hope they will come in and subject themselves to medical examination and treatment if kailangan [if needed],” Coronel said.
DoH Epidemiology Bureau officer-in-charge Ferchito Avelino said that the authorities would ask about the passengers’ condition over 14 days, if they have had symptoms of the nCoV and the people they’ve come in contact with.
“We will do our best to locate and contact them individually,” Coronel said.
However, Coronel said, if the contacted passengers showing symptoms refused to cooperate, police would notify the DoH and the local government units (LGUs).
“To probably isolate him and as mentioned to quarantine them if needed,” Coronel said.
Coronel also said that if the passengers knew they were on board with the two Chinese, they were advised to impose a self-quarantine.
“If needed pinapakiusapan natin, they can impose self-quarantine. Sila na mismo ang gumawa ng paraang para makaiwas at makahawa sa ibang tao [If needed, we are urging them to impose self-quarantine to prevent spreading the disease to other people],” Coronel said.
The Bureau of Immigration will determine if some of the passengers have left the country.