HOSPITAL FOR PUIs. Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. on Wednesday (Feb. 5, 2020) meets health officials to identify the hospital that will be dedicated to Persons Under Investigation (PUI) for novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). He said Dr. Ricardo Y. Ladrido Memorial Hospital in Lambunao town will hold PUIs because of its capabilities of handling suspected nCoV cases. (PNA photo by Gail Momblan)
ILOILO CITY -- To boost its preparations in confronting the current health concern on the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), the Iloilo provincial government has identified a hospital to handle cases under investigation for the disease.
Persons Under Investigation (PUIs) are those who had a history of travel to China and exposure to a positive case, manifest signs and symptoms of fever of more than 38 degrees and history of cough and colds within the last 14 days after the last travel or exposure.
Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr., in a media interview Wednesday, said Dr. Ricardo Y. Ladrido Memorial Hospital in Lambunao town, Iloilo is dedicated to handle the 2019-nCoV the PUI cases.
Defensor said the Department of Health (DOH) has recently directed that PUIs are to be confined in a selected hospital with isolation rooms, in which the district hospital in Lambunao is qualified.
“We identified a district hospital that is capable. We are looking if they have an isolated area. In practical terms, it has (isolation rooms) its own lane and its own nurse station,” Defensor said.
He said the identified hospital’s personnel also need to be properly trained and equipped to handle patients.
Dr. Cynthia Cabangal-Ng, chief of Iloilo’s Hospital Management Office (HMO), said the hospital has six isolation rooms.
“They can also provide further wards and they have ready areas that isolated (from the rest) that can be utilized,” she said.
Ng said they will be tapping the DOH in Western Visayas to train more its personnel on the proper handling of the PUIs.
Defensor said there are persons that have already entered the country before the February 2 temporary ban of flights from China, Hong Kong, and Macau to Manila.
“We are on guard because there is still a 14-day incubation period. They might travel to Iloilo province through domestic flights, by boat, or land,” he said.
A health declaration card, which will be accomplished by incoming domestic passengers in the province, will boost Iloilo’s measures against the entry of the virus, Defensor added.
The health declaration card issued to travelers will provide the information of one’s travel history and personal data, occupation, address in the Philippines, and a checklist of health conditions, among others.
It also bears the contact hotline of the DOH in Western Visayas, Iloilo Provincial Health Office, and some Municipal Health Offices in the province.
Defensor said the airlines at the Iloilo International Airport, during Tuesday’s meeting, have committed to collect the accomplished health declaration card of the passengers.
The airlines will also cascade to the municipal mayors any cases that need monitoring based on the health declaration card submitted by the passenger.
“The municipal mayors will mobilize their Rural Health Unit and other volunteers to monitor if there are any cases,” he said.
He said sea trips will also be under close watch.
“We have leveled off with our mayors and our Bureau of Quarantine that we will issue health cards in Ro-Ro (roll on-roll off) vessels entering the towns of Estancia and Dumangas,” he said.
Ng, meanwhile, said they have yet to record any suspected case of 2019-nCoV in Iloilo province so far. (PNA)
