From the Department of Health
The Department of Health (DOH), Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) are closely coordinating the repatriation of overseas Filipinos workers (OFWs) from the countries affected with the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).
“Knowing your enemy is half the battle won,” Secretary of Health Enrique Ona declared as he underscored the importance of educating the public on the deadly EVD, even as he stressed that the DOH is in close coordination with the other members of the inter-agency task force to share information and discuss preparations and response to potential arrival of OFWs and foreign nationals from West Africa.
The DOH, DFA, and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) today informed the public on what the Inter-Agency Task Force is doing to prevent the spread of EVD, including the following guidelines on handling Filipinos in affected areas: (1) OFWs should coordinate with their recruitment agencies in assessing the risk of the spread of the epidemic in their places of deployment; (2) proper coordination of Philippine labor officials (DOLE, POEA, Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration (OWWA) should be undertaken in the possible repatriation with the DFA and the Bureau of Immigration; and, (3) any returning symptomatic Filipino (those who have fever, headache, intense weakness, joint and muscle pains and sore throat) should seek clearance with the local health authorities from the country of employment before being allowed to embark.
As of July 31, 2014, the number of cases in the four affected West African countries has so far reached 1,323, which includes 729 deaths. The over-all case fatality rate is at 55%.
The Philippines has many OFWs in the EVD-affected countries. Data from the DFA show that there are about 880 Filipinos living in Guinea, 1,979 in Sierra Leone and 632 in Liberia, including the 148 Filipinos UN Peacekeeping Force. Meanwhile, POEA said that in their records, there are 72 in Guinea, 398 in Sierra Leone and 202 Filipino workers in Liberia.
The DFA raised Alert Level 2 for Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia while a deployment ban is now implemented on newly hired OFWs to these countries. Meanwhile, recruitment agencies have been notified by employers in West Africa of repatriation of 15 OFWs from Sierra Leone.
DOH is now monitoring these OFWs for 30 days after their departure from their points of origin.
“We are still Ebola-free. But we are on our toes. We are closely monitoring all possible ports of entry,” the health chief said as he assured the public that we have the capability and the facility to address Ebola.
