JDV urged to undergo quarantine after China trip

House Speaker Jose De Venecia Jr. and some members of Congress attending a week-long trade exhibit in Shanghai, China were urged yesterday by their colleagues to submit themselves to quarantine upon their return.

House Minority leader Carlos Padilla said that the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the deadly disease now sweeping the world, originated from China and it is possible that some members of De Venecia’s party may be infected with the virus.

"I am urging Speaker De Venecia to set the example by allowing themselves to undergo quarantine," Padilla told reporters at the Balitaan sa Rembrandt Forum in Quezon City.

However, President Arroyo later said there was no need to do so. "No. If they did not come from a SARS-infected area, there is nothing to worry about," she said.

In Shanghai, four people were diagnosed with the disease, two of them health workers, the WHO website reported yesterday.

A nurse at the Shanghai Renji Hospital, who requested anonymity, said Shanghai hospitals have been reported to have admitted patients with flu-like symptoms similar to those of SARS.

China on Wednesday reported 792 cases and 31 deaths from the mysterious illness in southern Guandong province, while eight from northern Sanxi province and Hong Kong had gone to Beijing seeking treatment, three of whom died.

Padilla said that the Department of Health (DOH) has already issued an alert that all Filipinos coming from China should undergo quarantine for seven days.

"There must be no double standard in the implementation of the quarantine laws, everyone including members of Congress must comply with the said health requirement," he said.

"It would be very unfortunate," he added, "if the Speaker and members of Congress would be the ones responsible for the outbreak of the disease in the country."

As this developed, Marikina Rep. Del De Guzman, who is in Shanghai with De Venecia, said he will voluntarily have himself quarantined immediately after his arrival from China on Monday.

In a statement sent to House reporters, he said he would voluntarily stay home for the seven-day period for everyone’s peace of mind.

Meanwhile, short of advocating an outright travel ban, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended on Thursday that countries hardest hit by SARS should screen international passengers at airports.

The WHO recommendation came as worries mounted yesterday that SARS was spreading via air travel, sparking deep concerns about a steep decline in tourism.

The toll from SARS has now climbed to 54, mostly in Asia, with 1,300 others infected all over the world.

The cremation of domestic helper Adela Dalingay, 39, the first Filipino to die of SARS and whose death in Hong Kong started a worldwide alert on SARS, was postponed yesterday to today. Her ashes would be flown to Manila early next week.

At the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), frontline employees are expected to be provided with rubberized gas masks to handle passengers and flights arriving from destinations affected with SARS.

The DOH, however, allayed fears that the killer disease will spread in the country despite frequent visits of foreigners and balikbayans from SARS-affected countries.

"Most of those who were infected acquired the infection through exposure with SARS patients, that is why our concern is the medical workers but in the community, the transmission is very slow," Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit said.

He also clarified that fruits and vegetables as well as old clothes from countries affected by SARS epidemic are still safe to eat and use. He explained that SARS microbes cannot live and multiply unless inside human cells.

"Unless the microbes are inhaled after being coughed out by a SARS infected person, they cannot live and multiply to infect other persons," Dayrit said.

Meanwhile, the National Epidemiology Center (NEC) is now urging Filipinos to defer any plans of traveling to Guandong and Hong Kong in China, Hanoi in Vietnam, and Singapore to avoid contacting the disease.

NEC chief Dr. Consortia Quizon yesterday debunked fears that Filipinos who have survived SARS in other countries could pose a threat when they come back to the Philippines. – With Mayen Jaymalin, Ding Cervantes, Rainier Allan Ronda, Sandy Araneta, Edith Regalado, Katherine Adraneda, Marichu Villanueva, AFP