PCG: Ship from China arrives in San Carlos City today

Philippine Coast Guard-Negros Occidental (PCG) chief, Lt. Commander Jansen Benjamin, said they are strictly monitoring all vessels originating from China and docking in the province as parts of precautions against the 2019 novel coronavirus (nCoV).
The Coast Guard official noted, prior to the nCoV issue, PCG has been actively implementing quarantine immigration customs safety and security inspections on all foreign vessels and explained, before a foreign vessel is allowed to dock at any part of the country, they are first redirected to the port’s anchorage area and must await a PCG boarding team and a Bureau of Quarantine officer.
Once the quarantine official clears the crew and vessel of medical concerns, they will issue an advisory allowing the vessel to dock. However, Benjamin, pointed out, due to the nCoV issue, they have implemented stricter monitoring of foreign vessels, especially those originating from China.
The local PCG commander also confirmed a vessel originating from China is scheduled to arrive today in San Carlos City. He said the vessel’s crew have already coordinated with the Bureau of Quarantine and they will be directed to the port’s anchorage area while awaiting an inspection.
“In the event there is a suspected nCoV case on the vessel, there will be no disembarkation and the crew will immediately be placed on quarantine,” Benjamin said.
He added, in such an event, they will immediately send a health official to the vessel in question to take samples and forward them to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine for confirmation.
Meanwhile, for local vessels, especially those operating passenger services, Benjamin said they are implementing information dissemination. He said PCG personnel, in coordination with the Philippine Ports Authority, are actively encouraging passengers to practice proper hygiene in order to combat the virus./DGB, WDJ