No stopping of cruise ships’ arrival in Subic amid coronavirus alert
SUBIC BAY FREEPORT –– There is no hampering the arrival here of luxury cruise ships, some carrying Chinese tourists, despite a heightened alert raised by the Department of Health following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in China, an official here said.
Lawyer Wilma Eisma, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) administrator, said there have been no changes in the schedule of cruise ships coming here.
Eisma earlier said there were 38 confirmed cruise ship arrivals here this year.
“One cruise ship that is supposedly coming on Feb. 8 has been canceled but not because of the virus,” Eisma told the Inquirer in a telephone
interview on Thursday.
Eisma said the Port of Subic has received a memorandum from the Bureau of Quarantine about the DOH’s heightened alert for the viral pneumonia.
Article continues after this advertisementThe SBMA head has also issued a public and health safety bulletin to the agency’s departments.
“Procedures [on the arrival of cruise ships] will remain the same but we will be more vigilant this time,” Eisma said./lzb
For more news about the novel coronavirus click
What you need to know about Coronavirus.
For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH Hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150.
The Inquirer Foundation supports our healthcare frontliners and is still accepting cash donations to be deposited at Banco de Oro (BDO) current account #007960018860 or donate through PayMaya using this