DOH issues return-to-work guidelines; testing for COVID not mandatory

The Department of Health (DOH) has issued guidelines for employees who will be returning to work starting May 18 as the government eased quarantine restrictions in some areas of the country.

Health Undersecretary Dr. Maria Rosario Vergeire said that testing for coronavirus disease is not mandatory for those who will return to work.

“[The] IATF (InterAgency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases) resolution stated that in no case shall testing be a condition for return to work, so we expect that specific agencies shall implement and enforce the IATF resolution,” said Vergeire in a Viber message to reporters.

“Our protocol is to guide employers, we have emphasized that symptomatic screening is ideal, and test only when symptomatic.” she added.

For employers who are still opting to test asymptomatic workers, they may do a “representative sample” testing.

“Employers who opt to conduct testing may do so in a representative sample of those who have returned to work physically and have a high risk of contracting COVID-19 due to the nature of the work,” DOH Department Memorandum No. 2020220 states.

The DOH noted that the “cost of the test not covered by PhilHealth (Philippine Health Insurance Corporation,) shall be borne by the employer.”

“Testing using RT-PCR among representatives can be conducted to look for any evidence of asymptomatic transmitters,” the guideline stated.

“If tested positive, the returning employee/worker is a COVID-19 case and will be isolated and referred accordingly for appropriate management... If found negative, returning employee/worker can continue working with usual precautions,” it added.

“If initially tested negative but developed symptoms, the employee must be tested accordingly,” it read further.

The memorandum also stated that “testing using FDA-approved rapid antibody-based tests among representative samples for baseline can also be conducted up to every 14 days,” it added.

Senators on Monday raised concern over the government’s decision not require testing for employees who would return to work.

“I am so worried of the decision by the IATF on Emerging Infectious Diseases,” said Senator Joel Villanueva, chair of the Senate labor committee, in text message.

Villanueva said there has to be a “strong surveillance of COVID-19” in workplaces, especially amid persisting threats of the infection.

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

The senator said that he agreed that there is no need to regularly test all workers but said at least a weekly testing of a representative sample of workers should be conducted to make sure that the virus is not spreading in the workplace.

“I am hoping the IATF will rethink the strategy and workplace protocol,” Villanueva appealed.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros also maintained that employees have to be tested before going back to work.

“We need to test workers returning to work. This needs to be arranged by employers and DOH (Department of Health),” Hontiveros tweeted.

“We can’t ease quarantine if we’re not doing mass testing. Marami sa mga kaso walang sintomas (Many of these cases are asymptomatic). We cannot afford a second wave,” she said.

Also stated in the DOH guidelines is that employers shall ensure that the workspace is properly disinfected, ventilated, and maintained.

Employers should also conduct daily temperature and symptom monitoring and recording of all staff who report to work.

Infection control procedures such as physical distancing, wearing of face mask, hand hygiene, and cough etiquette, among others, must also be observed, the DOH said.

“Appropriate PPE [personal protective equipment] shall be worn based on the setting of their work (face shields and masks for those who render service via face-toface encounters, full PPE for frontline healthcare workers, etc.),” it said. (With a report from Vanne Terrazola)