BY OLIVER T. BACCAY
TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan (April 8)—With the surge of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases in the workplaces, the Department of Health (DOH) in Region 2 has urged all government agencies and private establishments to have their respective isolation facilities.
Dr. Rio Magpantay, DOH Region 2 director, said based on the data of the Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Units, many employees were infected with the disease, both in public and private workplaces.
He said an employee needs to go to work but should be responsible enough to follow the minimum health standards to avoid being infected with the virus while agency officials should also strictly follow protocols.
“If employee are exposed to a Covid-19 positive and develop symptoms, they should immediately report to superiors and undergo self isolation. They should no longer be allowed to go for work,” Magpantay said.
He also said that every agency should have its respective Occupational Safety and Health officer who will be responsible for checking their employees’ health status and manage Covid-19 related cases.
“The safety officer should report cases to their respective local government units for assessment, for proper isolation or the conduct of necessary tests,” he added.
In case an employee is categorized as suspected or probable, he or she must be immediately isolated at the agency’s isolation facility, Magpantay added.
He also reiterated that only those who have symptoms of Covid-19 should undergo immediate Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction test, others who are close contacts of positive cases but without symptoms should undergo isolation for five to seven days before the conduct of the test.
Workplaces should be disinfected regularly, Magpantay added, as one of the measures to lessen the probability of contagion of Covid-19.