Philippines needs 95k contact tracers amid COVID-19 pandemic — DOH’s Vergeire

The Philippines still needs to hire 95,000 contact tracers amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said Wednesday.

Vergeire said the ideal number of contact tracers is one per 800 people.

“Ang standard po na kailangan po natin ay 126,000. [Pero] mayroon na po tayong 38,000 na contact tracers galing sa local goverment units. Iyong 95,000 [na contact tracers], ‘yun ang kailangan nating tulong para makaagapay,” Vergeire said.

Vergeire, however, said that minimum qualifications for contact tracers are still being discussed.

As for the salary, Vergeire said that the salary will be in accordance with salary grade provided under civil service laws.

Back in May 12, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said the country should hire workers displaced by the COVID-19 lockdown measures as contact tracers.

Dominguez said then that around 1.2 to 1.5 million lost their jobs temporarily.

“One contract tracer can take a whole day for one case, so we need to hire more contact tracers to match the numbers we expect [of tracking],” Dominguez said.

The Philippines has recorded 14,669 COVID-19 cases thus far. Of this number, 3,412 recovered while 886 have died.

On May 26, the Philippines also registered 350 new COVID-19 cases, the highest number of recorded COVID-19 cases in a day since April 6.

The government has already eased lockdown protocols since May 16, allowing 50 to 75% of the workforce per company to physically report back to work amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The government, however, does not require returning workers to be subjected to COVID-19 test unless they have symptoms or are exposed to COVID-19 patients. — RSJ, GMA News