(Eagle News)–Senator Nancy Binay has called on the Department of Health and other government agencies to prepare an emergency response plan amid the threat of a novel coronavirus.
Binay issued the call as she filed Senate Resolution 293 which aims to determine appropriate measures and necessary funding requirements to ensure quick and efficient government response to address a possible outbreak.
“It might be best for the DOH to review the protocols in place and check if the necessary people are prepared to implement these if needed,” Binay said.
Earlier, the DOH ordered the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) to intensify checks on all travellers coming to the Philippines following reports of an “unknown form of viral pneumonia” is spreading in China, where, at present, over 40 have died.
Cases in the Thailand, Taiwan, Macau, the US, France, Japan and Singapore, among others, have been reported.
“Preemptive measures will always the better option. Kailangan natin paghandaan na dahil actionable ang impormasyong hawak ng DOH,” Binay said.
“We must act immediately to monitor reports of the disease or sightings, and abate the possibility of an outbreak,” she added.
The Civil Aeronautics Board has suspended flights from Wuhan, China–the seat of the outbreak— to any point in the country and vice versa.
Over 500 people from Wuhan who arrived in the country are slated to be returned in several flights.
