Department of Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire
MANILA – Shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) in health facilities nationwide is not the main cause of high risk for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) infection among Filipino health care workers, a Department of Health official said Thursday.
In a virtual media briefing, DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said health care workers -- either working locally or abroad -- are prone to being infected with the deadly disease because they care for the sick.
Vergeire said some of the patients' failure to disclose their complete exposure and travel history started the spread of the new coronavirus in the country, claiming the lives of Filipino health care workers.
"Kalaunan, nakikita natin, (Moving forward, we see) it's not really the PPE, it's something that when they go home, they go back to work and they get infections outside of their workplaces," she added.
Citing that other countries provide accommodation for health care workers within their facilities, Vergeire said this is a good policy the DOH is looking into.
"So, hindi na sila lumalabas, makikisalamuha sa iba, babalik doon sa kanilang ospital pagkatapos. So, ito iyong isang tinitingnan natin katulad nga ng nangyari sa Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) hindi sa loob nangyari. Pagpasok niya nadala niya 'yung infection sa ating (So, they don't go out anymore, engaging with other people, going back to their hospital. So, like what happened at RITM, it did not happen inside. [He/she] brought the infection to our) facility," she said.
The DOH is also mulling to cut short the work hours of health care workers because long shifts could make them more susceptible to the disease, Vergeire said.
"Unang-una, of course, physiologic, makakapagpahinga, mas mataas ang resistensiya nila, less prone na mahawa. Pangalawa, less exposure to the disease, ito ay maganda rin para ma-cut ang (First of all, of course, physiologic, they'll be able to rest, they'll have high resistance, less prone to be infected. Secondly, less exposure to the disease and this is good to cut) risk of transmission in the hospital," she said.
More than 1,000 health care workers in the country tested positive for the coronavirus disease, most of whom are doctors. As of April 22, the DOH reported that there are 1,062 infected health care workers. Of the number, 26 died of the respiratory disease. (PNA)
