Nurses group: Shortened quarantine unsafe for health workers, their families

An organization of nurses on Thursday opposed the shortened isolation and quarantine periods for fully vaccinated health workers infected with or exposed to COVID-19, urging the government to ensure their safety and protection.

In an ANC interview, Filipino Nurses United secretary-general Jocelyn Andamo expressed concern over the approval of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) of the shortening of quarantine protocols of the fully vaccinated healthcare workers to five days.

The IATF decided on this new isolation protocol following hospitals' concerns about being short-staffed amid the rising COVID-19 infections.

“Nakikita namin ‘to na hindi safe para sa kalusugan at kaligtasan ng mga nurses at iba pang mga healthcare workers, at syempre pati sa aming pamilya dahil maaring madala namin ang virus sa aming mga pamilya pa din,” she said.

(We could see that this is not safe for the health and safety of the nurses and other healthcare workers, and of course our families because we can still transmit the virus to them.)

Over the weekend, FNU decried the government's "chaotic" pandemic response, saying that the rise in cases shows the "ineptness and lack of preparedness by the government to handle the current health crisis despite having been in this pandemic for two years now."

Andamo said that they already worry about the welfare of the healthcare workers, with many already having been diagnosed with COVID-19.

At Philippine General Hospital alone, almost 400 healthcare workers have tested positive for COVID-19, with 86 new cases recorded on Sunday night.

Andamo added that many health workers have decided to leave their professions or the country due to lack of aid from the government.

“Wala pong nakikitang substantial or significant improvement sa work conditions namin, sa sahod namin. Ngayong pandemiya, napaka-risky, buhay ang nakataya sa paglilingkod,” she said.

(We don’t see any substantial or significant improvement in our work conditions and our wages, considering that the pandemic is very risky as our lives are at stake while serving.)

Special risk allowance

Andamo also said that despite the nurses and other healthcare workers' being on the frontline of the battle against the pandemic, many of them still have not received the special risk allowance (SRA) promised by the government.

Andamo said that a number of nurses, particularly those in the provinces, are still waiting for their supposed benefits, which include SRAs; meal, accommodation, and transportation allowances; and the active hazard duty pay.

She noted that some only even received P227.27 of SRAs for six months of hard work.

“Kung nakatanggap man sila ay napakalaking problema sa kakulangan ng amount. May hindi tama sa computation na binigay sa kanila. Kaya talagang nakakaawa ang maraming nurses na hindi nakatanggap ng deserved na benefits dahil sila ang nakaharap sa pandemiyang ito,” Andamo stressed.

(Even if they received the SRAs, there’s still a huge problem with its lack of amount. There is something wrong with the computation given to them. It is really pitiful that many nurses are not receiving the deserving benefits because they are on the frontlines of this pandemic.)

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III on Wednesday admitted there was a small source of funds for the SRAs of medical frontliners in 2021.

He said that the Department of Health is set to meet with the Departments of Finance and the Budget and Management to discuss the funding of the SRAs of healthcare workers for 2022, targeting at least P50 billion fund for the purpose. — BM, GMA News