Bureau of Quarantine Bataan Station Chief Emmanuel Sto. Domingo reveals that all maritime vessels coming from China are now required to undergo a 14-day quarantine before docking in the province. (Mar Jay Delas Alas/PIA 3)
BALANGA CITY — Vessels coming from China going to ports in Bataan shall be quarantined for 14 days due to 2019 Novel Coronavirus Acute Respiratory Disease (2019 nCoV ARD).
During an emergency meeting Wednesday with stakeholders, Bureau of Quarantine Bataan Station Chief Emmanuel Sto. Domingo revealed that they are manning a total of 11 seaports as they monitor for possible 2019 nCoV ARD patients entering the province.
“Before a vessel coming from China do its business at the different ports here in Bataan, it has to undergo a 14-day quarantine. Meaning, vessels cannot enter our ports nor do its business such as loading and unloading,” he stressed.
Sto. Domingo assured that all captains and crew members of maritime vessels are always advised of precautionary measures especially those who are going to countries with confirmed positive cases.
“Since we have an outbreak, we have to conduct temperature check to all crew members.Usually there are 20 to 25 crew members on each vessel,” Sto. Domingo said.
He assured that they will take immediate action if a crew member shows signs of the infectious disease.
“If there is a high suspicion that the crew member is a possible patient, then that is the time we refer him to the provincial hospital and inform our national director. If we think there’s an urgent need to bring the patient to Research Institute for Tropical Medicine we will do it,” he furthered.
