Philippine chemical warfare team deployed to assist govt against coronavirus

The Philippine National Police (PNP) has placed on standby its Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives (CBRNE) team to assist government efforts against the 2019 Novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). At a press briefing Monday, PNP Chief Gen. Archie Gamboa said the CBRNE team — composed of field officers, nurses, medical technicians, and doctors — may also help in screening the passengers and assisting in the repatriation of Filipinos in China. “(PNP) has made available a team of CBRNE, trained medical personnel from the PNP Health Service who may be deployed to assist concerned agencies in the repatriation of Filipinos based in China and other countries affected by the 2019-nCoV ARD, ” Gamboa said. “At present, the PNP has a ready complement of 105 CBRNE-trained personnel from SAF (Special Action Force) Health Service, CrimeLab (Crime Laboratory), and EOD-K9 (Explosive Ordinance Disposal and Canine Group), that can be called upon to respond to CBRNE events, ” he added.