POEA issues A(H1N1) guidelines for OFWs

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has released a set of precautionary measures against the A(H1N1) virus for overseas Filipino workers (OFW). In an advisory issued Friday, POEA Administrator Jennifer Manalili said that aside from protecting themselves against the virus, inbound and outbound Filipino workers should observe the following reporting and monitoring arrangements: • Returning OFWs/and disembarking crew shall inform their recruitment/manning agencies about their arrival in the Philippines. • OFWs should stay at home (self‐quarantine) for 10 days after arrival before reporting to the recruitment agencies. • OFWs with flu‐like symptoms on the date of departure shall notify their respective agency and ask for postponement of deployment. • If infected on-site, OFWs shall ask for assistance from the nearest Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) or Philippine Embassy or Consulate. • OFWs shall report to the nearest POLO, Embassy or Consulate any case of infection among other Filipino workers. • In the Philippines, the public should report any known case of the flu virus to the nearest local health authority, or through the following: Bureau of Quarantine ‐ 832‐2929 OP CEN‐HEMS ‐ 711‐1001 915‐7725621 921‐5922361 National Epidemiology Center ‐ 743‐1937 Research Institute for Tropical Medicine ‐ 807‐2628 Manalili also asked OFWs to heed the advice of health authorities to protect themselves from the virus. These include strengthening the immune system, maintaining good personal hygiene, and practicing social distancing. She encouraged all recruitment agencies to issue similar advisories and guidelines to their departing and returning workers and seafarers. Ten Filipinos have tested positive for the A(H1N1) virus after arriving in foreign countries. Two of them were the first such cases in Saudi Arabia and Macau As of June 17, the World Health Organization has reported 39,620 confirmed cases of A(H1N1) all over the world. Of this number, there have been 167 deaths, mostly in the United States and Mexico. - Kimberly Jane T. Tan, GMANews.TV