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Philippine bishops sound alarm against MERS

Government is monitoring eight people who came in contact with carrier
Philippine bishops sound alarm against MERS

Philippine health officials have been on alert in the past months for the possible entry of MERS in the country. (Photo by Vincent Go)

Published: July 07, 2015 09:05 AM GMT
Updated: July 06, 2015 10:26 PM GMT

The country's Catholic bishops on Tuesday called on the Philippine government to "exercise due diligence" to ensure that people will be protected from the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS).

The bishops issued the statement after the Department of Health on July 6 confirmed that a 36-year-old foreign national from the Middle East who has traveled to Manila has been found positive for the virus. 

The health department announced that it is monitoring eight people who had close contact with the patient. 

"The government must make sure that it has the resources and the capacity to treat [the virus] and prevent it from further spreading," Fr. Jerome Secillano, spokesman of the bishops' conference, told ucanews.com.

The government assured the public that the situation is under control. 

"President (Benigno) Aquino has tasked the [health department] to tighten surveillance and quarantine measures at ports of entry and to ensure the prompt reporting by all hospitals of patients who show symptoms of the disease," said presidential spokesman Herminio Coloma Jr.

Last month, the country's Catholic bishops advised Filipinos to temporarily forego travel to South Korea due to the reported occurrence of MERS in that country.

Some 55,000 Filipinos are working in South Korea, according to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration. 

"We must take necessary and essential precautions to protect ourselves and our loved ones," said Bishop Ruperto Cruz Santos of Balanga, chairman of the bishops’ Commission on Migrants and Itinerant People.

The Philippines has been on alert for the possible entry of the virus after 185 people in South Korea were diagnosed with the disease with 33 fatalities.

As of June 2015, the World Health Organization has recorded 1,338 laboratory-confirmed cases since 2012 in 26 countries, including at least 475 deaths. 

MERS was first discovered in Saudi Arabia in 2012. The virus can be acquired through close contact with people infected by the virus and air droplets from coughing and sneezing.

Symptoms of the virus are coughing, difficulty in breathing, high fever, and diarrhea, among others.

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