DOH advises long holiday vacationers to self monitor

by: GELAINE GUTIERREZ

QUEZON CITY, (PIA) -- The Department of Health (DOH) has advised those who took vacations and visited other areas during the long break to self-monitor if they experience any symptoms of COVID-19. 

The DOH made the call following reports that many did not follow health and safety protocols such as wearing a face mask and physical distancing. 

"We have seen these videos where people were partying without any mask at all, and they were really crowded," said Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire. 

“These are the times when the virus has a chance to be passed on to each of us. increasing cases here,” she added. 

The DOH advises vacationers and travelers to observe for themselves if they experience any symptoms of COVID-19 for five to seven days. 

“If you happen to have sintoamas please isolate at once. Please wear your mask even though you’re at home just to protect us and after 7 days and you are fully vaccinated you can always be sure that you are not infected,” said Vergeire. 

The DOH also reminded the public not to be complacent because the number of COVID-19 cases in the country could still increase if some health protocols continue to be non-compliant. 

The DOH had earlier warned that there could be thousands of new COVID-19 cases in the country by May due to non-compliance with the rules. 

"This is something to guide all of us so that we will prepare and we'll try to prevent this thing, for this situation to happen… This is not cast in stone, when we say that we projected 500,000 it doesn't mean it is going to happen really 100% sure right? ” said Vergeire. 

"What would be most important right now would be we have flagged this information to the public, we have informed our kababayans that this could happen because of all the risk factors that we have been observing these past weeks," she added. 

The DOH also reminded local governments that they can be held accountable if the number of individuals allowed to enter their area attractions is found to exceed the set crowd limit. (PIA-NCR)