MANILA: The government alerted yesterday all concerned agencies to ensure that the new type of coronavirus from the Middle East would not spread in the country.
Health Secretary Enrique Ona said he ordered the National Epidemiology Centre (NEC) to coordinate with the World Health Organisation (WHO) for regular updates on the severe respiratory illness caused by a novel coronavirus that was reported from the Middle East.
Ona directed the NEC to adapt the case definition shared by WHO to identify suspect cases and the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) to be on alert for possible detection and management of cases.
He also asked the Bureau of Quarantine for routine screening of passengers arriving in different ports in the country and their subsequent evaluation or treatment at RITM if needed.
“Our experience in the previous global public health emergencies such as the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) Coronavirus in 2002-2003 and the Pandemic Influenza H1N1 in 2009- 2010 has given us the necessary capacity to respond to similar threats,” Health Secretary Ona said.
The United Kingdom Health Protection Agency reported of a laboratory-confirmed case of severe respiratory illness associated with a new type of corona virus.
The patient is from the Middle East and was diagnosed in a London hospital.
The Philippine Star
