‘We can’t afford a second wave’: Senators insist on testing returning workers

MANILA, Philippines — At least two senators on Monday insisted on the need to test returning workers, citing that the absence of “strong surveillance” of COVID-19 in workplaces would put employees at risk.

In a message to reporters, Senator Joel Villanueva expressed concern over the decision of the government’s COVID-19 task force not to require testing on workers returning to work in areas under relaxed quarantine arrangements.

The senator, who chairs the Senate labor committee, said the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) should “rethink the strategy and workplace protocol.”

“I am so worried (by) the decision by the IATF. There is a need for strong surveillance of COVID-19 in the workplace.

The absence of that will put our workers at risk and will add to the strain of our healthcare system,” he said.

Villanueva added there is no need to subject all workers to regular testing but he proposed for a regular or weekly testing of a representative sample of workers “to make sure the virus is not spreading in the workplace.”

Meanwhile, Senator Risa Hontiveros warned that the country could not affort a “second wave” of COVID-19 infections, which she said just might happen if workers are allowed to go back to the workplace untested.

“We need to test workers returning to work. This needs to be arranged by employers & DOH (Department of Health). We can’t ease quarantine if we‘re not doing mass testing,” she said on Twitter.

We need to test workers returning to work. This needs to be arranged by employers & DOH.

We can't ease quarantine if we‘re not doing mass testing. Na-commit nga natin sa POGO, ba't hindi sa mga Pilipino?

Marami sa mga kaso walang sintomas.
We cannot afford a ‘second wave.’

— risa hontiveros (@risahontiveros) May 18, 2020

Hontiveros further pointed out that the government had required Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) employees to undergo testing before they can be allowed to report to work.

“Na-commit nga natin sa POGO, ba’t hindi sa mga Pilipino? Marami sa mga kaso walang sintomas. We cannot afford a ‘second wave,’” she said.

(We committed to have POGO workers tested, why not Filipino workers? A lot of the cases show no symptoms. We cannot afford a ‘second wave’).

Metro Manila, Laguna and several other Luzon provinces  have been placed under a modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) while Cebu City and Mandaue City were placed under an ECQ.

The ECQ imposes a “strict home quarantine” for all households, the suspension of transportation, regulated provision for food and essential health services and “heightened presence” of police and soldiers to enforce the quarantine.

Meanwhile, under the MECQ, all businesses that were allowed to open under a general community quarantine will also be allowed to operate at a 50 percent capacity.

To date, Philippine health officials have so far confirmed 12,513 COVID-19 cases in the country.

Of the number, 2,635 have so far recovered while 824 have died from the disease.

EDV