Dr. Liland Estacion, head of the Provincial Health Office of Negros Oriental. (File photo by Judy F. Partlow)
DUMAGUETE CITY – The provincial government of Negros Oriental, through the Provincial Health Office (PHO), is putting in place contingency measures to prevent the entry of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) and handle it in case it reaches the province.
PHO head, Dr. Liland Estacion, in an interview Monday afternoon, said that PHO Provincial Advisory No. 01, series of 2020, signed by her and Governor Roel Degamo, is addressed to municipal and city health officers, and to the chiefs of hospitals, both public and private, across the province.
The advisory encourages the “heightened case detection and appropriate referral for response” on the novel coronavirus through strengthened surveillance of “influenza-like illness” or ILI, she said.
Estacion said this is imperative as the 2019-nCoV exhibits symptoms similar to flu or other upper respiratory diseases, like cough, cold, fever, runny nose, headache, and sore throat, among others.
In fact, others affected with it are asymptomatic or do not manifest symptoms and this particular strain of the coronavirus also has an incubation period like other strains, she said.
Estacion said the public must be mindful of these symptoms and seek immediate medical treatment and not wait for their conditions to get worse.
The PHO, through its Provincial Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (PESU) advisory, requires all concerned health facilities, disease surveillance officers and coordinators to tighten watch over “like-illness” cases and report them immediately within 24 hours to the PHO or the Department of Health (DOH) provincial office.
Apart from the flu-like symptoms, surveillance and monitoring include persons who have a history of travel to Wuhan, China (a city in the Hubei province where the novel coronavirus is said to have originated), within 14 days prior to the symptoms; a person who develops on unusual or unexpected clinical course, especially sudden deterioration despite appropriate treatment without regard to place of residence or history of travel, even if another etiology has been identified that fully explains the clinical presentation; and the disease occurs in a health care worker who has been working in an environment where patients with severe acute respiratory infections have history of travel.
Also covered by the surveillance and monitoring are individuals with acute respiratory illness of any degree of severity, who within 14 days before onset of illness had any of the following exposures: a) close physical contact with a confirmed case of nCoV infection while that patient was symptomatic; b) a health care facility in the country where hospital-associated nCoV infections has been reported; and c) direct contact with animals (if animal source is identified) in countries where the nCoV is known to be circulating in animal population or where human infections have occurred as a zoonotic transmission.
Furthermore, all health facilities are advised to enhance surveillance and monitoring of Out-Patient Department cases with focus on cases with a history of travel to Wuhan, China.
Estacion said the Negros Oriental Provincial Hospital (NOPH) in this capital city have two special isolation rooms for highly-contagious cases, such as the nCoV.
Also, she appealed to the people to heed the warnings and advice of health authorities, such as taking precautionary measures like regular hand-washing, avoiding crowded places, and wearing appropriate protective gear, such as face masks when necessary and/or appropriate.
Meanwhile, Estacion said the Capitol is set to call for a meeting among officials of hospitals and concerned agencies to further draw up additional measures in relation to the ongoing spread of nCoV to other countries, especially as Chinese tourists continue to flock to the province.
Negros Oriental will also be coming up with an organizational set-up, contact persons, and hotline numbers that the public can call in the event of a confirmed or even a suspect nCoV case in the province, Estacion said. (PNA)
