A security guard holding a placard reminding people of social distancing walks past Philippine overseas workers who were quarantined for weeks after returning home as they wait for flights back to their home cities around the country, at Manila’s international airport. (Photo by Ted ALJIBE / AFP)
MANILA, Philippines — In keeping with the concept of “living with the coronavirus,” the Department of Health (DOH) said on Friday that it might eventually stop policies like physical separation and quarantine for people exposed to COVID-19 patients.
Acting DOH Secretary Maria Rosario Vergeire made the pronouncement when asked if the country will likely follow the direction of the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that recommended the streamlining of such protocols because it considers the virus as something that will “(continue) to circulate globally.”
“Actually, that’s the direction,” Vergeire said. “We are here to live with the virus because we know that the virus will stay.”
Earlier, the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommended the removal of protocols such as physical distancing and quarantine for people who have come into close contact with a person infected with COVID-19 because they consider the virus as something that will remain.
READ: US CDC no longer recommends students quarantine for COVID-19 exposure
Vergeire said the country is leaning towards that direction since the government wants to shift the public’s mindset.
She also noted that the DOH’s directive to discontinue daily case updates in favor of a weekly tally since March is part of shifting the public’s mindset.
“So kung mapapansin niyo po, nag-umpisa po tayo mag-shift ng mindset nung nagpalit tayo ng case bulletin natin,” Vergeire said.
(If you have noticed, we started shifting the mindset when we changed our case bulletin.)
“Ang importante sa ating lahat, [What’s important to all of us] and I think the US government also has that kind of objective — that we will protect the most vulnerable, we will protect our healthcare system from being overwhelmed, and we will try to prevent as much possible, severe and critical cases and deaths,” Vergeire added.