AMID the new virus threat from Japan, the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said that no report of any possible entry of the said infection has been reported so far by the Bureau of Quarantine (BoQ) assigned at the NAIA terminals and monitoring arriving passengers.
MIAA spokesman and head executive assistant Atty. Chris Noel Bendijo also said that based on orders of airport general manager Eric Ines, the BoQ has also been requested to immediately report any possibility that the dreaded virus called, streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS) may have already gained entry into the country.
Bendijo also explained that in the wake of the recent installation of signs in conspicuous places inside the NAIA Terminals encouraging the wearing of face masks among airport users that primarily include the passengers, it (wearing of masks) is merely recommendatory and not actually mandatory.
Masking up, he says, is a choice that is left on the discretion of the travelers but the MIAA is strongly urging it for utmost safety.
Reports have it that while the transmission of the said virus from person-to-person is through direct contact with lesions or contaminated respiratory secretions, airborne transmission had not be totally ruled out although it is rare.
Alongside this, Bendijo said that the MIAA is also encouraging passengers to practice the usual health protocols that were put in place during the pandemic such as frequent washing of hands, distancing and covering of the mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing.
He assured passengers that the MIAA is constantly in touch with the BoQ as the latter continously monitors arriving passengers for possible virus symptoms, not only from Japan but other countries as well.
