THE UNIVERSITY enforced on Saturday mandatory temperature screening at all building entrances as an added precautionary measure against the 2019 novel coronavirus (nCoV).
People were also required to use hand sanitizers at the entrances before entering University buildings.
The precautionary measures were implemented under a circular issued by the Office of the Secretary General on Friday.
A security personnel said that if a student or a personnel is found to have fever, he or she would be immediately sent to the Health Service.
Deploying infrared scanners is expected to reduce vulnerability to the virus, as fever is one of the symptoms of an nCoV carrier, the circular said.
“In anticipation of slower flow of foot traffic, the community is advised to allot additional time for arriving at the buildings in order to avoid being tardy for classes / appointments,” the advisory from the Office of the Secretary General read.
Some students did not see the new precautionary measure as an inconvenience.
“It’s not that much of a hassle and it only takes one to maybe three seconds to do that for every student,” Franc Stephen Gloton, a sophomore from the Faculty of Pharmacy, said.
Earlier this week, the University also halted some in- and off-campus activities as part of the preventive measures against nCoV. Travel to China, Hong Kong and Macau was also suspended.
On Feb. 6, the Department of Health confirmed the death of a suspected nCoV patient due to pneumonia.
As of this story’s posting, the number of suspected nCoV cases in the Philippines stood at 215, including three confirmed cases.
Fifty-seven tested negative for nCoV and 155 others were still awaiting laboratory results. with reports from Arianne Maye D.G. Viri
