Cargo from coronavirus-infected nations can now enter Philippine ports

MANILA (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN): Ships coming from countries affected by the novel coronavirus outbreak (2019 nCoV ARD) will now be allowed to discharge cargoes in Philippine ports.

The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) on Wednesday (Feb 5) announced that the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) has lifted its 14-day quarantine period of cargoes that came from Taiwan, China and its Special Administrative Regions after the PPA made an appeal to reconsider the protocol.

“We’ve been able to make an appeal to the BOQ to reconsider that decision [14-day quarantine period] because it will greatly impact our supply chain if we hold ships an average of 14 days, ” PPA General Manager Jay Santiago said in a press conference.

“As of this morning, the BOQ has already lifted that measure and we will now even allow ships coming from China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan to directly berth and discharge cargoes at the port of Manila and all other PPA-operated ports, ” he added.

Santiago emphasised that the lifting of the 14-day quarantine period only applies to cargoes. Crews of vessels from 2019 nCoV ARD-affected countries are still not allowed to disembark at ports.

“They will be required to stay aboard the ships, ” the PPA official said.

The rationale behind the lifting of the quarantine period, Santiago explained, is that there is no “very high risk in so far as the transmission of the virus over cargoes are concerned.”

He said that the respiratory virus can only survive a maximum of 10 hours if outside of a host and the travel time from affected countries, such as China, ranged from 36 hours to eight days.

Further, the discharge of cargo from ships will have “very minimal human intervention” as ports such as the Port of Manila, Manila International Container Port (MICP), and South Harbor are “fully mechanised.”

Ports also have protocols in disinfecting cargoes even prior to the outbreak of the 2019 nCoV ARD, Santiago added.

"We have cranes unloading the cargo so there is very minimal human intervention in so far as the ship crew are concerned, ” he said.

“If there are situations wherein there might be some need to disinfect the cargo, then we have the capability and facility to do that, ” the PPA official added. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/Asia New Network