Government agencies and their employees should take precautionary measures to further prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace.

The Civil Service Commission said agencies must establish prevention and control measures to protect their employees from the risk of infection. Such measures, according to the Department of Health*, include the following:

• Regular and thorough handwashing and use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers; and
• Use of face mask for the following people: a) persons caring for the sick; b) healthcare workers attending to patients with respiratory infections/symptoms; c) persons with respiratory infections/symptoms.

Preventive measures also include the management of symptomatics. Employees suspected of having COVID-19 must be provided with a face mask to prevent the risk of spreading the infection; be immediately isolated in a separate well-ventilated room, away from other workers; and be referred to a healthcare provider or hospital for evaluation. The employee’s work area must also be decontaminated.

Moreover, the Commission called on state workers to keep themselves posted on the latest developments about this event, refrain from spreading false information, and heed self-protection measures as advised by the DOH.

For health advisories, please refer to the DOH website at https://www.doh.gov.ph/ and https://www.doh.gov.ph/2019-nCoV.

*Source: DOH Department Memorandum No. 2020-0056 dated 3 February 2020