Capitol to follow Singapore’s discharge protocol

The province of Cebu will be instituting a time-based discharge for COVID-19 cases instead of confirmatory tests.

In her press conference yesterday, Governor Gwendolyn Garcia said the province will be following after Singapore’s example of releasing COVID-19 patients after 21 days.

Under the present standard, COVID-19 patients -- symptomatic or asymptomatic, will have to test negative for the coronavirus disease twice before they would be discharged from hospitals and isolation centers.

In the time-based discharge system, Garcia said those who no longer show symptoms after two weeks of isolation will be discharged sans the two negative Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) results.

Aside from this, the province will also veer away from the previously instituted protocols of swabbing even non-COVID-19 admissions.

Also, the province will only be testing patients who manifest Influenza-Like Illnesses (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Infection.

Garcia updated that an appeal has already been sent to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases( I AT F ME ID) yesterday, June 1, for the province to advance to a modified general community quarantine.

According to her, the deadline for appeals was May 29 but they were made to believe that the province was about to transition to MGCQ prior to that.

To recall, IATF released

Resolution No. 40 which identified the province of Cebu as a GCQ zone last May 27. This would start on June 1 to June 15.

Upon the release, the province reportedly began making preparations for an appeal.

Garcia pointed out that President Rodrigo Duterte then made an announcement on May 28 categorizing the province as a MGCQ area.

Thus, on May 29, a meeting was scheduled between the mayors and the governor for May 30 to discuss MGCQ protocols.

However, IATF went on to release Resolution No. 41 on May 30 which puts the province back to GCQ. —