The Department of Health (DOH) is studying the possibility of decreasing to only three days the quarantine period of returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs) who test negative for Covid-19, with the Christmas season approaching.
This was brought up after the Inter-Agency Task Force modified the quarantine protocols for travelers from countries that are not included in the red list to five days.
“Tignan natin. Habang pumapasok ang bagong kaalaman patungkol sa Omicron variant,” Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said during a virtual Malacañang briefing. briefing.
Duque added that they should wait for more information.
“But anyway, maigi na rin ‘yung mag-antay pa tayo ng karagdagang impormasyon at datos para mas malinaw at magabayan tayo in terms of calibrating our response,” he said.
“And part of this is whether we should bring back the quarantine period from five days to three days,” he added.
Duque cited World Health Organization country representative Dr. Rabi Abeyasinghe’s statement that there is evidence showing that the Omicron variant may only cause mild Covid-19.
He added that hospitalization rates due to Omicron were not increasing.
“Ang hospitalization mukhang hindi naman sumisipa. Mukhang hospitalization admission follows the same curve for Alpha and Delta so parang hindi naman ito naiba. Parang sinasabi it’s no cause for alarm,” he said. Ronald Espartinez