DoH releases omnibus Covid-19 guidelines
THE Department of Health ( DoH) has released the omnibus guidelines for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) testing, isolation, treatment and reintegration, which will guide the country’s response to the pandemic. Health Secretary Francisco Duque 3rd signed Department Memorandum 2020-0439 issued on October 6, which specifically instructs healthcare professionals on how to detect the presence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, or SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.
The memo said in determining “the right test for the right reason under any circumstance, test availability, the turn-around time of test results and test specificity and sensitivity should be considered.”
According to the memorandum, real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) tests are still recommended to confirm if an individual has Covid-19.
Rapid antigen tests shall be used only in settings where the rRT-PCR testing capacity is “insufficient and in hospital settings where turnaround time is critical, as well as in community settings where there is a confirmed outbreak of the disease.”
Symptomatic close contacts who would test positive in antigen tests shall be deemed as positive for Covid-19, while symptomatic close contacts who are negative, as well as asymptomatic contacts, regardless of the antibody test result, shall be subjected to confirmatory rRT-PCR testing.
The memorandum also states that discharging a recovered Covid-19 patient will not require any more repeat testing and should not be a prerequisite for clearance or certification from a medical professional.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the omnibus guidelines consolidated all practices and updated protocols for the country’s Covid-19 response.
Meanwhile, Vergeire said the antigen test pilot study will continue in Baguio City to determine the most “rational use” of the testing protocol.
She added that the results of the antigen test study for those entering the city is “inconclusive” at the moment because only 200 people participated in the trial of the 956 needed as sample size.
She added that while the tests are being finalized, the omnibus guidelines have included antigen tests based on the recommendations by the World Health Organization and the Health Technology Assessment Council, and would be updated once the results of the study from Baguio are validated.
The omnibus guidelines were made through the cooperation of the DoH’s Covid-19 Technical Advisory Group and Laboratory Experts Panel, as well as the Health Technology Assessment Council, and the Healthcare Professionals Alliance against Covid-19.