Gov’t to use New Clark City as place of quarantine for returning Filipinos from China
MANILA, Philippines — The New Clark City will be used as a place of quarantine for repatriated Filipinos who will return home from China, in view of the global threat of the novel coronavirus acute respiratory disease (2019-nCoV ARD).
“It was offered by BCDA [Bases Conversion and Development Authority], that’s why I said in my press statement that we convey our appreciation for the BCDA for coming forward and offering their facility,” Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said Thursday in a press briefing.
Health officials earlier said that the repatriated Filipinos are expected to arrive in the country on Saturday.
Duque announced this a day after the DOH announced the country’s third confirmed case of nCoV—a 60-year-old Chinese woman who arrived in Cebu City from Wuhan in China via Hong Kong and headed directly to Bohol on Jan. 20. She already returned to China on January 31 after initial tests showed she was negative for the virus.
In the global scene, the virus has infected a total of 28,256 individuals as of Thursday morning, with more than 28,000 in China where it was first detected. There have been 563 deaths so far, all recorded in China except one each in the Philippines and Hong Kong.