Gov't monitoring 7 workers from Ebola-stricken Sierra Leone

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The Department of Health (DOH) said today that it is monitoring seven overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who returned from Ebola-stricken Sierra Leone.

DOH Spokesman Lyndon Lee Suy said the seven workers are among the 15 OFWs repatriated to the Philippines by their recruitment agency from Sierra Leone.

Suy said the workers arrived in the Philippines on different flights from June 26 to July 15.

"They all came in healthy. But since the incubation period (for Ebola) is two to 21 days, we wouldn't know when the manifestation would come in," he said.

The rest of the OFWs were declared free of Ebola virus, although three of them developed fever but were eventually cleared by doctors.

Suy said the DOH has alerted its regional offices so they could bring any worker who may develop symptoms to hospital for isolation and testing.

Health Secretary Enrique Ona assured that the Philippines remains Ebola-free. But he urged any returning Filipino worker experiencing fever, headache, intense weakness, joint and muscle pains, and sore threat to get clearance from local health authorities in their country of employment before heading back to the Philippines.