BY ANALOU DE VERA
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The Department of Health (DoH) has expanded the coverage of persons to be tested for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as the agency continues to increase its testing capacity, an official bared Wednesday.
“Ngayon pumapalo na ang ating capacity for testing na mataas na rin almost 20,000 in a day na, so napagdesisyunan na i-expand pa natin further ang ating testing (coverage),” DoH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire told reporters.
Included in the testing guidelines are vulnerable individuals living in areas with clustering of cases or community transmission that needs “localized intervention,” said Vergeire.
Vergeire said that “frontliners in tourist zones” and workers in “manufacturing companies and public service providers” are also included in the testing guidelines.
The testing guidelines also covers the “economy workers” such as: drivers, conductors, pilots, flight attendants, waiters, restaurant managers, teachers at all levels of education, bank tellers, cashier, store clerks, hairdressers, security guards, messengers, among others, said Vergeire.
To note, the other subgroups of individuals who are considered at-risk and are eligible for testing based on the DoH guidelines are:
- Subgroup A: patients or healthcare workers with severe/critical symptoms, and relevant history of travel or close contact;
- Subgroup B: patients or healthcare workers with mild symptoms, with relevant history of travel or close contact, and who are considered vulnerable. These vulnerable populations include the elderly and those with pre-existing medical conditions that predispose them to severe presentation and complications of COVID-19;
- Subgroup C: patients or healthcare workers with mild symptoms and relevant history of travel or close contact;
- Subgroup D: patients or healthcare workers with no symptoms but with relevant travel history and close contact;
- Subgroup E: frontliners indirectly involved in healthcare provision in the response against COVID 19; and
- Subgroup F: other vulnerable patients such as those with comorbidities, those who will undergo high-risk, elective surgical procedures, those living in confined spaces, and others.
