QUEZON CITY, 11 Oct. (PIA)–Due to the growing concern over the Ebola virus, the Department of Health (DOH) gathered concerned private organizations and government agencies in a National Summit on Ebola Virus Disease.
With the theme: One Nation, One Direction for EBOLA prevention, the event which was held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Ortigas, Quezon City, Friday, October 10, aims to solicit the support of participants to help the government keep the Philippines free from the dreaded virus.
In his keynote address, Health Secretary Enrique Ona said that as of the moment there is no cure for Ebola disease we need to strengthen our resolve to keep our country Ebola-free.
“The best remedy is public awareness not only of the disease, but its prevention and what the government is doing about it,” Ona said.
Ona said that President Benigno Aquino III has created an inter-agency task force that will manage all emerging infectious diseases in the Philippines.
Executive Order No. 168, signed by the President last May 26, creates the Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID).
The Task Force chaired by the Department of Health with the Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Justice, Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Tourism, and the Department of Transportation and Communications as members.
Task Force is in charge of establishing a system to identify, screen, and assist Filipinos suspected or confirmed to be infected with EID.
It is also in charge of preventing the spread of the said diseases and the entry of patients with EID into the country.
The Health Secretary assured the public that his agency, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) have been closely coordinating the repatriation of overseas Filipino workers from Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia, the three countries affected by the Ebola virus.
Records from the DFA have shown that nearly 3,500 Filipinos are working in the three Ebola-hit West African countries, 880 deployed in Guinea; 1,979 in Sierra Leone and 632 in Liberia.
Last month, the labor department has already imposed a partial ban on the deployment of OFWs on the three countries.
To ensure the welfare of Filipinos in the Ebola-stricken countries, recruitment agencies have already been ordered to closely monitor OFWs they deployed in the three West African countries and in case of infection among OFWS there, these agencies must immediately report to the Philippine Overseas Welfare Administration (POEA), the DOH and the DFA. (RJB/SDL/Courtesy Philippine Information Agency-NCR)
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