{"id":7651,"date":"2014-04-22T14:54:56","date_gmt":"2014-04-22T06:54:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=7651"},"modified":"2014-05-03T02:26:46","modified_gmt":"2014-05-02T18:26:46","slug":"advisory-for-filipino-communities-in-the-middle-east-on-mers-cov","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2014\/04\/22\/advisory-for-filipino-communities-in-the-middle-east-on-mers-cov\/","title":{"rendered":"Advisory for Filipino communities in the Middle East on MERS-CoV"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"File<\/a>
File photo: Dragon Images \/ ShutterStock<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Department of Health\u00a0(DOH) of the Philippines are advising Filipinos staying and residing in the Middle East,\u00a0especially in the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to take the\u00a0following precautionary measures against the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome \u2013\u00a0Corona Virus (MERS-CoV). Currently the World Health Organization has not declared\u00a0any outbreak or epidemic of MERS-CoV in the Middle East. There are no travel\u00a0restrictions to and from the Arabian Peninsula. Despite these, we are encouraging\u00a0Filipinos in the Middle East to practice the precautions below for their own protection.<\/p>\n

1. Practice proper hand hygiene always, by washing your hands with soap or hand\u00a0rubs with alcohol before and after eating; before and after handling, cooking and\u00a0preparing food; after coughing, sneezing and using the toilets; and before and\u00a0before and after touching animals.<\/p>\n

2. Practice proper cough etiquette by covering your mouth and nose while sneezing\u00a0or coughing. Use a facial tissue when coughing or sneezing and cover your\u00a0mouth and nose with it. Dispose the tissue in a waste basket.<\/p>\n

3. Avoid contact with farm and domesticated animals, including camels.<\/p>\n

4. Avoid contact with sick or infected with MERS-CoV. If you have respiratory\u00a0illness, stay home and wear a surgical mask to protect your family members.<\/p>\n

5. If you are a health worker, strictly follow infection control protocols in your work.<\/p>\n

6. Visit your doctor, a hospital or health facility immediately if symptoms of MERS-CoV manifest itself, including, persistent coughing, and other.<\/p>\n

7. If you were in close contact with a confirmed MERS-CoV patient, comply with\u00a0local health regulations and postpone any trip abroad until after test results are\u00a0negative.<\/p>\n

8. Practice healthy habits such as regular exercise, balance3d and nutritional diet,\u00a0and adequate sleep of at least 8 hours, as it would help strengthen the body\u2019s\u00a0immunity.<\/p>\n

The DFA and DOH also advised Filipinos in the Middle East not to panic and be taken\u00a0in by false claims and rumours. One rumour alleges that \u201cUAE health authorities\u201d have\u00a0warned people to stay away for 72 hours from places such as malls, beaches hospitals,\u00a0parks, and other locations that are believed to be \u201chotspots for the new killing virus.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Health Authority of Abu Dhabi (HAAD) subsequently denied issuing this statement.<\/p>\n

To date, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recorded 243 confirmed cases of\u00a0MERS-CoV worldwide, including 93 deaths since March, 2012.<\/p>\n

There is no vaccine for the virus, and it source is not yet known, although camels and\u00a0bats have been pointed as possible sources.<\/p>\n

Approved for release by:<\/p>\n

\"doh<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

P<\/em>ress release courtesy of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Department of Health, 21 April 2014.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Department of Health\u00a0(DOH) of the Philippines are advising Filipinos staying and …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":7655,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1145,95],"tags":[2395,204,2401,2040],"class_list":["post-7651","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headline","category-news-ph","tag-cov","tag-dfa","tag-doh","tag-mers","mauthors-department-of-foreign-affairs","mauthors-department-of-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7651","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7651"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7651\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}