In an emergency virtual meeting of its global members, the group unanimously voted to call on the Philippine government to impose the total ban for public health and safety. “The Philippines is not medically prepared to handle the fatal virus so its only option is to impose the ban of incoming tourists from China to mitigate the risks of an imminent pandemic,” says Dr. Celia Lamkin, the group’s chairperson and founder.
The call for a total ban takes into consideration the numbers associated with the virus. The New York Times has reported that there are 80 confirmed deaths in China with 3000 confirmed cases being treated in Wuhan itself. There were also reported cases in Beijing and other cities of China.
The trend of the coronavirus infection among individuals who visited Wuhan in different countries is increasing with confirmed cases in Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Malaysia , Nepal, Australia, the U.S., Canada, France, Nepal, and lately, Cambodia.
Recently, 150 tourists from Wuhan, China have arrived through a chartered flight in Caticlan Airport, Aklan for Boracay in the central Philippines despite the lockdown of Wuhan. These tourists were subjected to thermal screening and were reportedly sent back to China.
This is alarming for people who have been in close contact with these Chinese tourists from Wuhan because the incubation period of the novel coronavirus is 14 days.
“This is indeed a very big health threat to the people in Boracay Island, and the whole Philippines despite the thermal screening at the airport which is not totally reliable. With the incubation period, passengers may not manifest any symptoms during their arrival” Dr. Lamkin added.
“All Filipinos in Wuhan and other cities of China should be evacuated as soon possible and should be quarantined for a period of time,“ says Gerald Miranda, the NYMWPS national chair for the Philippines.
Maurice Phillip Alexis Albayda, the NYMWPS Kalayaan Island Group chapter chair, says: “With the recent epidemic concerning novel coronavirus, the National Youth Movement for West Philippine Sea would like to compel the Philippine government to call for proactive action. Our constitution implies the value of public health and public safety as the primary benefactor of the government. Hence, the alarming factual data which greatly affects our countrymen needs a drastic yet preserving action. It is not bad for our national government to ban Chinese coming from mainland China and other tourists whose itineraries include mainland China. Through this action, we will, at our maximum capacity, preserve our nation to be least affected by the virus.”
The Philippines has no confirmed case yet but NYMWPS is urging the government to institute emergency and necessary preventive measures, including:
• Denying entry of all Chinese tourists and other nationals coming from China;
• Closing some of the remote seaports and airports which are port of entries of these tourists and maintain some ports that have access to advanced healthcare services and medical personnel in cases of medical emergency;
• Boracay should be locked down first to observe the people in the island for 14 days (incubation period of corona virus) after the arrival of the Chinese tourists from Wuhan;
• The Philippines should prepare a hospital for the cases of Filipinos abroad who would be evacuated and who would be quarantined, for observation and treatment;
• Pooling of healthcare personnel and social services workers to meet the demands in case of medical emergency;
• Formation of an emergency committee composed of many experts in infectious diseases, lung specialists, pediatricians, geriatrics specialists, virologists, community medicine experts, epidemiologists, public health nurses , social workers, among medical specialists, healthcare workers, and local government units; and
• Training local government units and their constituents on preventative measures and preparedness skills in dealing with coronavirus. This kind of training should be applied also to all catastrophic events such as earthquakes, typhoons, flooding, landslides, fires, tsunami and other medical emergencies.
“With the geophysical characteristics of the Philippines as an archipelago of 7,641 islands, only 2,000 of which are inhabited, it is so hard to manage in case of an outbreak. Many remote areas have no ready and adequate access to health care services. Many of these areas are accessible as port of entries, consisting of sea ports and airports in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The lack of Philippines resources — financial, medical personnel and experts to specifically handle such cases — highlights the need for the government to prioritize the safety, public health, and welfare of all Filipinos,” Dr. Lamkin concluded.
