By Sarah Grace Andaya, Davao Today Intern
DAVAO CITY – Councilor Joselle D. Villafuerte, Chairman of the Committee on Health announced that the Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) who was on mandatory quarantine from ebola in the isolation unit of the SPMC will be discharged.
“Up to now, the quarantined OFW did not show any signs and symptoms of ebola and would probably discharge this Friday, December 19,” Villafuerte said during Tuesday’s session.
The OFW arrived in Davao City last November 28 and was immediately quarantined at the SPMC.
The OFW, whose identity requires anonymity, was a safety engineer in a mining firm from Sierra Leone, one of the most affected areas of the
ebola outbreak.
“If an OFW shows no signs and symptoms of Ebola, there is no reason to quarantine him, however, he is under mandatory quarantine because of a verbal order coming from the office of the president,” Villafuerte said.
She added that the Department of Health has ordered that all OFWs coming home from Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea will be subjected to the mandatory quarantine at the isolation unit of the SPMC.
The SPMC is the only medical facility in Mindanao that has a quarantine or isolation room to monitor and treat patients suspected to be afflicted with high-risk diseases.
Philippines is still an ebola-free country.
According to the WHO, as of December 13, there are already 6,856 probable, confirmed and suspected deaths from ebola including those from US and Mali. Liberia has 3,290 deaths, Sierra Leone has 2, 033, Guinea has 1,518 and Nigeria has eight. (davaotoday.com)
