Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque III announced that it is not yet required to close down the Philippines’ borders amid the rising infections of the monkeypox virus worldwide.
“‘Yung pagsasara ng borders or stricter border control, hindi pa yan dapat gawin sa ngayon, ano?” Duque said in an interview on GTV.
“Unang-una, ito yung ating measures para sa Covid, ‘yung stricter surveillance, yung more stringent symptom screening,” he added.
The health chief said he is closely working with the World Health Organization (WHO) to address the threat of the virus.
He also ordered the Bureau of Quarantine to monitor the entry of tourists from countries with confirmed cases of monkeypox such as Canada, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Europe, and North America. The Philippines has no cases of the monkeypox virus yet.
The health chief explained that the rate of transmission between monkeypox and Covid-19 are not similar.
“Kasi ito ang mode of transmission nito, direct physical contact. So tao sa tao, skin to skin. Pagka halimbawa, meron source yung bodily fluids, may exchange of bodily fluids… puwede din daw may sexual transmission,” he said.
“’Yan yung nana, yung dugo, kailangan magkalipatan,” he added.
People with monkeypox may experience the following symptoms: fever, rash, and swollen lymph nodes.
— Ronald Espartinez