MONDAY /

EUICUITEOFW$
IIIUIRU$.IIIT

ByJulie M. Aurelio -l'.

and DJ Yap
@Team-Inquirer '
The government will not evac-
date Filipinos working in coun-
'tries battling a new pneumo-
nia-like " illness for now but
urged them to follow Ibcal
health instructions to help pre-
vent its spread.
The new .illness, whose
pathogen is {entatively called
2019 novel coronavirus (uoig-
nCov), has sickmed nearly z,ooo
and killed 56 people in Wuhan,
capital of the central Chinese
province of Hubei and spread
toso{rth Koiea, Japan, Thailand,
Vi€ham, Singapore, Nepal, Tai-
wall Australia, France and the
United states.
It spreads fast, like the Se-
vere Acute Respiratory Syn-
drome (SARS) that ifected
almost aooo and killed nearly
8oo people, mostly in China, in
2oo2-o3, and is believed to have
originated from wild animals. -
Unlike the SARS coronavirus,
however,, the new coronaYirus
is transrnissible from human to
human,

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r said Filipinos should not allow and a healthy diet." the continued concern [about In Tacloban City, the incubation period of the new
Fmilfi themselves to be caught up in Taduran also called on Fil- their presence herel," said Eric 36-year-old American who ar- ' coronavirus was r4 days. I
the "hysteria" as thp country ipinos returning from other Apolonio, spokesperson for the rived there on Jan. 16 from Wu- Roca said all the people whd
)epartment of Health (DOH) is had "a system in place" to deal countries not to ignore any flu- Civil Aviation Authorily of the han was reported on Sunday had contact with the American
)repared to deal, with the new with the disease should id get like symptbms if they feel un- Philippines. to be doing well in a govern- had undergone "self.-quaran-
:oronavirus should it reach the here. well and instead seek medical Airlines operating direct ment-run hospital, tine" and remained asymptom-
?hilippines. In a statement released on help immediately. flights to Kalibo from wuhan atic. I
Speakingin a radio inter- Sunday, Taduran noted that I also suspended their services Amerlcan traveter In Bohol, Dexter Muneses
/iew, presidential spokesper- the Philippines had recov- Border defenses indeflnitely. Pan Pacific Airlines John Paul Roca, DOH infor- Ancla, an ofrcial of tfle Bohol
;on Salvador Panelo said that ered from the SARS and the The government4ras raised and Royal Air Charter operate mation offcer in Eastern Vi- Conservation Society, urged
f they feel.safe, Filipinos in Middle East Respiratory Syn- border defenses, and China has six charter flights weekly be- sayas, said on Sunday that the suspended Gov. Arthur Yap to
:he stricken countries should drome (MERS) epidemics and recalled its citizens traveling to tween Wuhan and Kalibo. American had no more fever, restrict tourist trafrc from Chi-
lot be forcea to leave ;because said all the .country needed to the Philippines. Residents of Boracay had but had "occasional, nonpro- na after two Chinese nationals,
;heir livelihood is there." do should the new coronavi- On Saturday evening, the protested the operation of ductive cough, just like an ordi- one of them a z-year-old child,
'Authorities in those coun- rus hit the Philippines was to last group of Chinese tourists tours from wuhan to their is- nary cough." had been taken to hospital with
:ries are also doing something strictly implement the system from Wuhan who spent the Lu- land despite the spread of the "The only difference is that fluJike symptoms. The two,
:o contain it," Panelo said. it had used to combat the pre- nar New Year on Boracay Island new coronavirus in that central he came from Wuhan City," however, proved negative for
There are no confirmed vious two viral illnesses. flew home, a day eadier than Chinese city" Roca said. the new coronavirus and were
:ases of the new illness in She advised Filipinos to de- their scheduled return trip. Some have called for a tem- But the American, he said, released. -wrrx REPoRTS FRoM
:he Philippinps, and ACT-CIS velop resistance to viruses by "The airline decided to ad- porary ban on all tourist trafrc would be confined for r4 days, ,{ESTOR P. BURGOS JRA JOEY €ABIETA AND
tep. Rowena Nina Taduran "keeping fit through exercise vance their flight because of from China to Boracay. or up to Feb.- 2, because the IEO UDTOHAN INQ

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