Special arrangement at airport for Pinoys arriving from Wuhan —DOH

Filipinos returning to the Philippines from Wuhan, China will not pass through the regular quarantine and immigration areas at the airport, the Department of Health said Wednesday.

Instead, said DOH spokesperson Undersecretary Eric Domingo, special arrangements are being made to have them pass through an area where they will not be exposed to other passengers.

Wuhan is the epicenter of the outbreak of the 2019 novel coronavirus, which has infected thousands of people around the world, mostly in China. The Philippines has recorded three cases so far, including one who has already returned to China and one fatality.

A seafarer on a cruise ship currently quarantined in Japan, meanwhile, is the first Filipino confirmed to have contracted the virus.

Domingo also told reporters that the Department of Foreign Affairs is arranging a flight that will bring the Filipinos home.

Because of the travel lockdown in China, Domingo said the DFA “was asking for landing and take-off permission from the Chinese government.”

A team from the DOH will be on the flight to assess the passengers before they fly back to the Philippines.

When they arrive, the Bureau of Quarantine will conduct its own assessment of the passengers.

From the airport, the Filipinos who do not have symptoms of the 2019-nCoV will be brought to an isolated building in Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija where they will undergo a 14-day quarantine.

Repatriates who exhibit symptoms, Domingo said, will be brought to a hospital. — BM, GMA News