DOH eyes slashing quarantine of fully-vaxxed health workers to just 7 days

Dagupan health workers are swabbed for the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction test on May 27, the start of a four-day mass testing program for the city’s frontliners. WILLY LOMIBAO

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) is eyeing to slash the quarantine period of fully vaccinated healthcare workers who have been exposed to COVID-19 patients from the current 14 days to just seven days.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said Tuesday that this is to ensure that more healthcare workers will be available to work in hospitals, as the country sees a surge in COVID-19 cases.

“Magpapalabas po tayo ng isang polisiya kung saan we will be shortening the quarantine period of close contacts who are fully vaccinated na healthcare workers para naman po hindi 14 na araw sila nawawala sa hospital,” she told ABS-CBN’s Teleradyo.

(We are going to issue a policy where we will shorten the quarantine period of fully vaccinated healthcare workers who are close contacts of COVID-19 patients so that they won’t be gone for 14 days.)

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Vergeire said, however, that the healthcare workers should have a negative test result for COVID-19 on the fifth day of their quarantine.

“Ito po ay fina-finalize pa (This is still being finalized). We need to vet with our experts but if in case they all agree, we are going to issue this policy,” she added.

COVID-19 cases are increasing again as the DOH confirms more cases of the highly transmissible Delta variant. The country currently has 130,350 active COVID-19 cases, including the 18,332 additional cases reported on Monday which was the highest ever single-day increase since the start of the coronavirus pandemic last year.

EDV