(Reuters) Philippine President Benigno Aquino on Friday (November 7) assured the public that the Philippines is prepared in the event of a case of Ebola.
“Now based on latest studies, we have patterned our systems to adopt all of them, to train our people to carry them out, to ensure that this disease does not, is not allowed into our country, to the furthest extent possible,” he said.
The Philippines has imposed a 21 day quarantine in a government hospital as part of screening measures for people entering the country from one of the three west African states – Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
It has also set aside 26 million pesos ($578,000) for the screening and treatment of suspected Ebola patients.
Aquino told reporters that a contingent of UN Peacekeepers, which was ordered to withdraw from Liberia in August due to the Ebola outbreak, will undergo quarantine on an isolated island in Luzon.
“The order to send our troops back from Liberia is the duty of the State to ensure the health and safety of those who protect the country. We humbly ask the families of our peacekeepers their understanding because they cannot go home for 21 days. We will be giving them a vacation on an island where they can have some rest and relaxation This is part of the process of your government to ensure that the Ebola virus will not get in the country,” he said.
Aquino also said the Philippines will be donating $1 million to the United Nations in support for the victims of the virus.
“We should not let fear and anxiety get to us because of the lack of information. Like before, through cooperation, we can move on from this issue. The state promises to take care of every Filipino, wherever they are in the world, for the benefit of our country,” he said.
Nearly 5,000 people have been killed by Ebola, mostly in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea — the three African nations hardest hit by the virus, which spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person.