Cebu Pacific said they are now coordinating with the Department of Health and Bureau of Quarantine after the woman who tested positive for novel coronavirus took Cebu Pacific flights.
“We are in the process of contacting passengers seated in the vicinity of the positive NCoV patient and are taking the necessary precautions to inform them so they can have themselves checked in case they show flu-like symptoms,” Cebu Pacific said in a statement.
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The airline said that the pilots and cabin crew of the flights showed no symptoms of the flu-like illnesses.
Cebu Pacific added that it will now be pulling out the aircrafts used by the infected woman for disinfection.
“To reduce the risk of infection across all of our flights, we are implementing preventive measures like cleaning and disinfection of aircraft in between flights,” the statement added.
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Cebu Pacific also encourages their employees, frontline personnel and cabin crew of wearing of face masks at all times.
The airline also reduced flights to China, Macau and Hong Kong.
Read Cebu Pacific’s full statement below:
January 31, 2020
Cebu Pacific is working closely with the Department of Health (DOH) and the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) on the necessary actions after the identification of the 38-year old Chinese female passenger confirmed to be positive with the Novel Coronavirus (NCoV) who took Cebu Pacific flights last January 21, 2020.
We are in the process of contacting passengers seated in the vicinity of the positive NCoV patient and are taking the necessary precautions to inform them so they can have themselves checked in case they show flu-like symptoms.
The cabin crew and pilots on affected flights have also been informed and show no symptoms of illness.
The aircraft used for both flights have been pulled-out of the line and are undergoing thorough disinfection.
To reduce the risk of infection across all of our flights, we are implementing preventive measures, which include:
Cleaning and disinfection of aircraft in between flights
Wearing of face masks by our employees, frontline personnel and cabin crew while on duty
Providing face masks to passengers who show symptoms of illness
When possible, isolation of passengers who manifest symptoms of illness in empty rows inside the aircraft during the flight
Coordination with health authorities in case there are passengers suspected of NCoV contamination for immediate turn-over and further observation
We have reduced the flights between the Philippines, mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau from February 3 to March 29, 2020 in light of the situation.
Passengers who wish to check the status of their flights may do so through the Manage Booking portal in the Cebu Pacific website, https://book.cebupacificair.com/Manage/Retrieve/.
We will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available.