AIDS tests for Manila spa employees pushed

Workers in spa and wellness clinics in Manila may soon be required to undergo regular screening for sexually transmitted infections (STI) under a measure strengthening the city’s prevention program against STI, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

In her draft ordinance, Councilor Irma Alfonso-Juson cited the need to amend Manila’s AIDS ordinance of 2008 to address the rising number of HIV cases in the city.

According to Juson, some spa and wellness clinics serve as fronts for the sex trade, hence the need for their workers to undergo bimonthly STI screenings.

Under the current ordinance, only establishments like bars, nightclubs and sing-along pub houses are required to subject their employees to mandatory tests.

Juson’s draft measure also requires managers and entertainment workers to attend seminars on STI, HIV and AIDS prevention.

The tests may be conducted at the social hygiene clinic of the Manila health department or other accredited clinics, it added. Erika Sauler