By Azer N. Parrocha
MANILA, Nov 12 (PNA) — Passengers entering the Philippines coming from three West African countries — Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone — will soon be required to stay in temporary staging areas (TSAs) as an added precautionary measure against Ebola.
The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) in a press conference on Wednesday made the announcement after the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) earlier said that it will raise the crisis alert level by mid-November in the three worst-hit Ebola countries.
MIAA General Manager Jose Angel Hornado said that alert level 3 calls for voluntary repatriation, meaning the government will strongly urge Filipinos working and living in Ebola-infected countries to go home for safety reasons.
Data from the DFA showed that there are currently over 800 Filipinos in the three West African nations, most of them professionals but none working in the health sector.
“We are putting up temporary staging areas (for passengers coming from the three Ebola-infected countries),” Honrado said.
The airport chief did not elaborate on the protocol but said that these staging areas will be established once the DFA raises the crisis alert to level 3. It will be implemented regardless if passengers show any signs or symptoms of the dreaded virus or not.
He clarified that since the staging areas to be managed by MIAA were only temporary, those passengers suspected infected with Ebola will eventually be brought to primary staging areas such as the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) and other hospitals identified by the Department of Health (DOH) and the Bureau of Quarantine (BQ).
At present, the DOH and the BQ in cooperation with NAIA and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) have already identified two buildings to put up the TSAs, which can accommodate about 100 people.
The MIAA said that it continues to coordinate with the DOH and BQ to disseminate Ebola awareness and prevention measures, especially for arriving overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
Airport management will also continue to check passengers for signs of Ebola through thermal scanners and will also require them to fill out immigration arrival cards to help concerned agencies tracking down passengers at risk of contracting the virus.
Health Secretary Dr. Enrique Ona said in an earlier interview that passengers should already fill out the cards with their address and telephone numbers while they are still in the plane for their safety.
Earlier this year, the DOH also urged passengers coming from the Arabian Peninsula to fill out cards at the height of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) scare.
DOH spokesperson Dr. Lyndon Lee Suy earlier said that the agency had some difficulties contacting the passengers with MERS-CoV because they did not fill out their arrival cards properly.
“You may come into the country free of Ebola but within 21 days, you may start to show signs of Ebola,” the airport chief said. “By that, then we have to be ready.” (PNA)