He said CHCC and the Marianas Visitors Authority are working on health travel questionnaires that will be handed to Saipan-bound passengers in the country of departure.
“When they board the plane, they will be given a questionnaire and it will be collected. When the aircraft arrives here, the questionnaires will be the first things that will be verified by [PHEP] and Customs and Border Protection…to determine if someone has the symptoms of coronavirus,” Villagomez said in a phone interview.
The symptoms include fever, coughing, and difficulty breathing. Under international health regulations, Villagomez said flight attendants are trained to recognize passengers who may have these symptoms.
In a statement, CHCC-PHEP said it is working with Customs and Border Protection at the Saipan airport and other ports of entry to screen passengers arriving from affected areas.
There are two stages of screening, CHCC spokesperson Zoe Travis said:
1) CBP is provided the flight manifests that identify the arriving passengers and the places they have recently traveled to or from.
2) CBP then informs PHEP if there are incoming arrivals from affected areas, such as Wuhan, China. PHEP surveillance staff members go to the airport to question these passengers about their recent travel and any symptoms they may be experiencing. This information is used to determine whether the individual should seek further care.
“If a potential case is identified,” Travis said, “PHEP staff will notify the Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services for transport of the patient to CHCC.” CHCC can then initiate protocols for a potential infectious disease case, ensuring that the patient can be treated and isolated to protect hospital staff and other patients at the hospital.
“The risk from these outbreaks depends on characteristics of the virus, including whether and how well it spreads between people, the severity of resulting illness, and the medical or other measures available to control the impact of the virus,” Travis said.
As of present, Villagomez said there is no coronavirus case at the hospital and in their surveillance collection data.
