Health workers from different hospitals held an online coordinated protest from their wards on Thursday to oppose what they called the continued unjust and anti-health workers’ policies of the Department of Health and the Duterte administration.
AHW national president Robert Mendoza assailed outright negligence of the Duterte government which he said had caused exasperation among the health workers.
“This greatly affects our health, safety and well-being and (as well as of) the people that they serve,” said Mendoza as he demanded a more humane and just policy for the health workers.
Mendoza noted that on January 6, 2022 the Department of Health released DOH Circular 2022-002 Section E or the Amended Quarantine and Isolation Period for Health Care Workers as Contingency Measure for Sustaining Health Care Capacity.
AHW objected to the said DOH Circular as it said it was inhumane and unjust to the health workers. They feared the said circular would pose further danger to the health and safety of health workers as well as the patients.
On January 14, 2022, DOH issued Department Memorandum 2022-0013 or Updated Guidelines on Quarantine, Isolation, and Testing for COVID-19 Response and Case Management for the Omicron Variant.
DOH updated the quarantine protocol for the asymptomatic but with COVID close contact and fully vaccinated persons to at least five days with NO RT-PCR test needed until his/her quarantine ends.
The updated isolation period for the fully vaccinated general public and health workers was changed to seven days from the onset of symptoms and ten days for the unvaccinated and partially vaccinated persons.
“The updated isolation and quarantine protocol issued by the DOH caused more confusion and is no different from the previous one. We stand firm that asymptomatic but with COVID close contact health workers who underwent five days’ quarantine must get an RT PCR test before returning to work. Same goes with the asymptomatic COVID-19 positive, and those with mild symptoms COVID-19 positive health workers who underwent a seven days’ isolation,” Mendoza said.
“But generally and at the maximum, we demand for a fourteen-day quarantine and isolation protocol for the health workers and general public regardless of whether one is asymptomatic but with close contact, asymptomatic COVID positive, those with mild and moderate symptoms COVID positives in order to ensure safety of health workers, their patients and to the rest of the general public,” Mendoza added.
AHW emphasized that health workers were not immortal.
“They are human beings too that need enough rest when they get tired and sick. Getting infected with COVID-19 is not easy. The 5-10 days’ isolation and quarantine period is not enough. DOH must hire more permanent health workers to augment the lack of health personnel.” Worst of all, AHW said the government is pushing to implement the One COVID-19 Allowance (OCA).
“We vehemently oppose the One COVID-19 Allowance because it would mean complete removal of our COVID-19 benefits such as special risk allowance (SRA), active hazard duty pay (AHDP) and meal, accommodation
and transportation (MAT) allowance. This scheme is indeed unjust, a discrimination and insult to us health workers as we were being devalued of our worth as frontliners fighting this pandeminc,” Benjamin Santos, AHW Secretary General said.
According to Santos, the DOH still owed them COVID-19 benefits under the Bayanihan 2 Law.
“And now this government is trying to degrade and depreciate the benefits that we deserve by implementing OCA. We reiterate our call to oppose OCA and we demand to retain the COVID-19 benefits such as SRA, MAT, AHDP and COVID-19 compensation.”