DOH asks employers to hold virtual Christmas parties this year

The Department of Health (DOH) on Friday advised employers to hold virtual parties this Christmas, saying that the pandemic is still here even as the country saw a decline in new COVID-19 cases.

“Sa ating mga employers, kung saka-sakali best pa rin to hold virtual parties for this Christmas,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire told a media briefing.

(To the employers, it may be best to hold virtual parties this Christmas.)

“Alam ko pangalawang Pasko na ito na nagkakaroon ng difference ang ating pagsi-celebrate ng ating Pasko pero sana po we can do these kinds of sacrifices so we can prevent further infections in the community, in our population,” she said.

(I know this is the second Christmas that we are celebrating in a different way, but I hope we can make these kinds of sacrifices to further prevent infections in the community and in our population.)

Earlier, the Department of the Interior and Local Government announced that in-person parties are allowed in areas under Alert Level 2 as long as health protocols and the 50% venue capacity limit are observed.

Should companies push through with parties, Vergeire urged them to only allow fully vaccinated individuals to attend and to ensure compliance with the minimum health protocols. 

“I advise our employers to require that only fully vaccinated will attend the parties, that you will be holding this in an open space, and everybody will be wearing their face masks, and practice physical distancing,” she said.

“And please, do not serve buffet dishes. We can have plated dishes so there won’t be a congregation when you get food from the buffet table and also for sharing of food,” she added.

Philippine Genome Center executive director Dr. Cynthia Saloma echoed the same view, saying that it would be better to hold a virtual Christmas party this year.

“Mas maganda po ngayong taon maging virtual Christmas party po muna tayo kung pwede,” Saloma said.

(It's better to have a virtual Christmas party this year, if possible.)

According to Dano Tingcungco’s “24 Oras Weekend" report on Saturday, a Christmas party in Norway sparked a COVID-19 outbreak with 13 employees testing positive for the Omicron COVID-19 variant.

The report said one of the employees who attended the party had recently visited South Africa, where the Omicron variant was discovered. Half of those who attended the party are possibly infected with the viral disease.

The Norway infections are now considered the largest outbreak of the Omicron variant outside South Africa.

Meanwhile, Vergeire reminded returning overseas Filipinos to get tested for COVID-19 before leaving for the Philippines.

This was after the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases imposed new testing and quarantine protocols for travelers arriving from countries that are not on the red list. — Richa Noriega/VBL, GMA News