ZAMBOANGA CITY -- The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) is keeping a close watch on the entry of foreigners into this city via the Zamboanga International Airport (ZIA) amid the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) scare.
CAAP Area Manager Antonio Alfonso said Saturday they coordinated with the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to help them document the history of travel of the foreigners, especially those coming from China.
Alfonso said they will immediately coordinate with the Department of Health (DOH) for appropriate action once a visiting foreigner, or even locals, turned out to have a history of travel to China.
“We are requesting them to register with the (BI) counter for documentation para alam natin ang (for us to know) the history of their travel,” he said.
As this developed, the DOH reiterated that this city has no Person Under Investigation (PUI) for 2019-nCoV.
Dr. Joshua Brillantes, DOH-9 (Zamboanga Peninsula) assistant director, said this city has one Person Under Monitoring (PUM).
“The PUM are those who visited China but have no symptoms of the virus. They were asked to self-quarantine by staying at home for 14 days while the PUI are those who visited China and are suffering from fever, colds, and cough. They will undergo quarantine in a medical facility,” Brillantes said.
The 2019 nCoV was first detected in Wuhan City, Hubei province, China and has spread to other countries. Thousands have been afflicted and hundreds have already died in China. (PNA)