MEETING ON nCoV. Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran (right), chair of the Bacolod City Inter-Agency Task Force Against the Novel Coronavirus (nCoV), and Dr. Grace Tan of the City Health Office (left) meet with the managers and representatives of hotels in Bacolod last week to discuss measures on how hotel operators could respond quickly and start introducing preventive measures against the deadly nCoV. As of Monday (Feb. 10, 2020) afternoon, six patients under investigation were admitted to tertiary hospitals in the city while three have already been discharged since last week. (Photo courtesy of Bacolod City PIO)
BACOLOD CITY – Six persons under investigation (PUIs) over their travel to novel coronavirus (nCoV) areas were admitted in tertiary hospitals here while three others have already been discharged since Wednesday last week.
This was based on the data provided by Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran, chairman of the Bacolod City Inter-Agency Task Force Against the nCoV, as of Monday afternoon.
The six include two females, who are out-of-town residents, while the rest are from Bacolod, including two males, and two females, one of whom is a new admission.
All patients are in stable condition, Familiaran said.
The said PUIs have traveled to either Hong Kong, Macao, Zhuhai in China, or Taiwan.
The first of the three discharged PUIs was a male, who was admitted at Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH), and was found negative for nCoV.
Familiaran said that in Bacolod, all seven hospitals are ready to accommodate PUIs for isolation and management.
These include the Department of Health-run CLMMRH and seven private health institutions, which have a total of 13 isolation beds.
On Monday, Familiaran met anew with the members of inter-agency task force, including spokesperson Dr. Grace Tan of the City Health Office, to further discuss the roles of each agency in curbing the nCoV outbreak.
Among the initiatives are measures on how hotel operators could respond quickly and start introducing preventive measures against the deadly nCoV, especially when dealing with clients who have travel history to nCOv-affected countries
Last Wednesday, the City Council approved the PHP10-million funding support to the inter-agency task force for the prevention and control of nCoV.
Earlier, Mayor Evelio Leonardia also ordered the mobilization of barangay health emergency response teams (BHERTs) to monitor and provide information to the city mayor about residents and visitors in their respective barangays who have arrived from a nCoV-affected country.
The teams will also coordinate with the barangay task force and appropriate agencies and offices, including health centers and/or hospitals.
Leonardia also reminded village chiefs to prohibit the disclosure to the public the identity of the PUIs and those under monitoring (PUM) for nCoV unless otherwise authorized by the proper government agency or office. (PNA)
