PROC crewmen kept off in RP shore

BACOLOD CITY — The 21 crewmen of a tanker from the People’s Republic of China that sailed into the BREDCO Port here Saturday afternoon have been prohibited from disembarking from their vessel as a precaution against the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, Alien Control Officer Mita Chuvy Arguelles said yesterday.

China, where SARS is believed to have originated, has the most number of SARS cases and deaths worldwide. Its government yesterday reported two new SARS deaths and 28 new cases, bringing the nationwide death toll to 284 and the cumulative number of cases to 5,233.

The M/T YOE YOU 801 with Guangzhou, China as its port of registry arrived here to discharge 6,700 metric tons of molasses, Arguelles said.

The tanker left Bangkok, Thailand for the Philippines on May 11 and after a three to four-day stop in Bacolod set to sail for Malaysia, she said.

Dr. Benjamin Bautista, senior medical quarantine officer, Saturday checked the crew of the tanker and found that none of them manifested any SARS symptoms, Arguelles said. However, the crew will still not be allowed to disembark since a 14-day period needs to be observed before it can be determined that they are SARS-free, she said. — Antonieta Lopez