FROM seven days, fully vaccinated close contacts of suspected and confirmed coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients need to undergo quarantine for 14 days anew.
This was contained in Resolution 132 issued last August 10 by the Interagency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases amid the rise in the number of active cases in the country.
The IATF “temporarily suspended” the seven-day quarantine based on the recommendations of the Department of Health and its Technical Advisory Group. The 14-day quarantine was shortened to seven last July 2.
“The testing and quarantine protocols for all close contacts of probable and confirmed COVID-19 cases, regardless of vaccination status, shall comply with the Department of Health Department Memorandum No. 2020-0512 or the Revised Interim Omnibus Guidelines on the Prevention, Detection, Isolation, Treatment, and Reintegration Strategies for COVID-19,” the resolution said.
In an online briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the level of viral load of vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals are similar if what they are carrying is the Delta variant.
Vergeire said this is the main reason why the DOH recommended the suspension of the shortened testing and quarantine protocols for fully vaccinated individuals who are close contacts of an infected person.
Malacañang had earlier announced that all individuals who are fully vaccinated but had direct contact with a person infected with COVID-19 must undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine period.
This is a change from the existing protocol that all fully vaccinated individuals are allowed to undergo a shortened seven-day quarantine period as long as they remain asymptomatic.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque, the IATF spokesman, said the decision to temporarily suspend the protocol is part of the continued implementation of proactive measures to slow down the surge in COVID-19 cases and stop the further spread of the variants, especially the more transmissible Delta variant.
Roque said the DOH defined close contacts as those who had exposure two days before, and 14 days after the onset of symptoms of the probable or confirmed case through face-to-face contact, direct physical contact, direct care for a patient without using personal protective equipment, or other situations as indicated by local risk assessments.
He said that close contacts who remain asymptomatic for at least 14 days from the date of exposure can discontinue their quarantine while those who develop symptoms or test positive for coronavirus will be isolated, admitted and treated in an appropriate facility.
Meanwhile, the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) on Tuesday asked Barangay San Isidro Chairman Noel Japlos of Parañaque City to explain why he should not be charged for reportedly refusing to issue quarantine passes to those who are not yet fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Japlos was given seven days to answer the show cause order sent to him by ARTA through email on Tuesday.
ARTA Director General Secretary Jeremiah Belgica said there is no rule requiring people seeking quarantine passes must be vaccinated.
Before this, ARTA last August 6 also sent show-cause orders against two barangay captains from Quezon City for requiring vaccination cards from those seeking quarantine passes.
To boost the healthcare system, the Department of Public Works and Highways turned over yesterday a 108-bed capacity offsite modular hospital facility at the Lung Center of the Philippines compound in Quezon City.
The facility includes a cluster unit with 20 beds for Intensive Care Units with oxygen and suction system dedicated to patients who require high levels of medical care and complex treatment, and four clusters with 22 rooms each that are equipped with an oxygen system, toilet and bath for other COVID patients. — With Gerard Naval
