Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez and Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson (right) discuss their joint response to monkeypox.*Richard Malihan photo
Bacolod City and Negros Occidental will come up with a unified screening and detection plan against monkeypox, Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said on Wednesday, August 24.
Benitez and Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson discussed their joint response on Wednesday following the detection of one monkeypox case in Iloilo province.
The mayor and the governor told DIGICAST NEGROS on Tuesday that the detection of a monkeypox case in Iloilo will not necessitate the closing of borders.
“There is no need to close borders, we will just heighten our screening at ports of entry,” Benitez said.
They will put up thermal scanners at all ports of entry as one of the symptoms of monkeypox, like COVID-19, is also fever, Benitez said.
They will also train personnel to spot and identify possible carriers of monkeypox at the ports of entry, he added.
The Bacolod City Health Office plans to use its Midway facility in Barangay Alijis as an isolation facility for possible monkeypox cases.
Dr. Adriano Suba-an, Department of Health 6 regional director, confirmed on Tuesday that the fourth monkeypox case detected in the country involves a 25-year-old male from Iloilo province who worked in Iloilo City.
The Iloilo resident had no documented history of travel to or from any country with confirmed cases of monkeypox.
The DOH has conducted contact tracing and identified 14 close contacts of the patient, he said.
The DOH in Western Visayas is closely coordinating with local government units and health facilities to further strengthen surveillance, contact tracing and referral mechanisms, including management, he said.
Monkeypox symptoms are mild and the disease is rarely fatal, he said.
He stressed the need to avoid close sustained physical contact with suspected cases, especially those with rashes and skin lesions.
Continue the practice of minimum public health standards such as hand washing, wearing of facemask, practice of cough etiquette, and chose areas with good wind flow, Suba-an said.*