2 OFWs certified Ebola-free

CEBU, Philippines - The two overseas Filipino workers from Central Visayas who worked as accountants in Liberia were yesterday released from mandatory quarantine and certified Ebola-free.

Regional spokesperson on Ebola prevention Dr. Dino Caing said they were supposed to be released a day earlier but documentary requirements were accomplished only yesterday.

“Bakasyon man gud gikan mao wala mahimo ang certificates. They were released without feeling any symptom and Ebola-free. They are no longer persons under investigation,” Caing said.

The released OFWs work in the same building in Liberia but for different companies.

Caing added that they will not be able to return to Liberia due to the national government’s deployment ban to countries with Ebola outbreak specifically the West African region.

Authorities also yesterday verified a report that an OFW from Sierra Leone passed the airport unnoticed and skipped quarantine. It turned out that the report was negative and that the OFW came from Ivory Coast, another African state with no Ebola outbreak.

The OFW arrived December 24 at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport before boarding a flight to Mactan Cebu International Airport. While authorities could not divulge his home address, they confirmed he is from Central Visayas.

Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit officials visited him and learned that he worked in Ivory Coast and not Sierra Leone.

“False alarm kay wrong information was sent to us. OFW came from Ivory Coast and from Ebola-stricken countries in West Africa,” Caing clarified.

Bureau of Quarantine airport quarantine officer Dr. Terrence Bermejo urged OFWs to cooperate with authorities and be honest in declaring their travel history so they can help the government protect the country from deadly diseases from abroad.

Bermejo emphasized that MCIA monitoring is only limited to international arrival.

“We cannot monitor domestic arrival without a direct order from DOH (Department of Health). It is only when there is active transmission that we can enter domestic screening. As of the moment, we are Ebola-free,” Bermejo explained.   (FREEMAN)