DOH urges COVID patients to stay home on election day

Pia Gutierrez, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt=" A participant submits her ballot for scanning with the PCOS machine during the Comelec mock elections at the Padre Zamora Elementary School in Pasay City on Dec. 29, 2021. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/news/04/22/20211229-comelec-mock-elections-gc-10.jpg"/><figcaption>A participant submits her ballot for scanning with the PCOS machine during the Comelec mock elections at the Padre Zamora Elementary School in Pasay City on Dec. 29, 2021. <em>George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News</em></figcaption></figure></div><p><br/>MANILA — COVID-19 patients and those with symptoms of the respiratory disease are urged to stay home on election day, Health Secretary Francisco Duque said Friday.</p><p>Duque said it was against government’s quarantine and isolation policies to allow COVID-stricken individuals to go to polling centers and cast their votes due to the risk to public health and safety. </p><p>&quot;Lagi naman nating sinasabi na ang policy natin, to isolate kung meron kang symptoms, so salungat yan sa ating policy na hindi, kahit may symptoms pwedeng bumoto,” he said in a televised press briefing.</p><p>(We always say that our policy is isolate if you have symptoms, so voting even with symptoms is against our policy.)</p><p>“By and large, ang posisyon ko d&#x27;yan, kapag meron nang sakit, &#x27;wag nang lumabas, kasi makapanghahawa pa tayo, eh mahirap na.” </p><p>(By and large, my position there is if you are unwell, do no go out because we might infect others, that is difficult.) </p><p>The Commission on Elections earlier said it would test <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/07/22/comelec-to-test-precinct-for-voters-with-covid-symptoms">isolation polling places</a> (IPP). </p><p>The IPP would be used in case &quot;a voter should exhibit COVID-19 symptoms or increase in body temperature so he or she could still vote despite these challenges,&quot; said Commissioner Aimee Torrefranca, head of the Comelec &quot;new normal&quot; committee. </p><p>Duque said government will continue to implement the pandemic Alert Level system, while authorities could also suspend elections in an area if it registers significantly high COVID-19 cases. <br/> <br/>“Ika-calibrate natin yung response natin. Ngayon kung ang tanong, posible ba na magkaroon ng postponement, syempre posible pa rin kung talagang masyadong mataas ang sipa ng mga kaso sa mga piling lugar,” he said.</p><p>(We&#x27;ll calibrate our response. Postponement is possible if there&#x27;s a really high spike in cases in select areas.)</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/19/22/adults-urged-to-get-booster-shot-before-may-polls">Adults urged to get booster shot before May polls: official</a></li></ul><p>While it is possible to halt the polls in specific areas where electoral board members become infected with the virus, it does not mean that the nationwide polls will be canceled or postponed, the Comelec earlier said. </p><p>&quot;Posibleng ma-suspend iyong elections for that reason, but only until you&#x27;re able to get new electoral boards,&quot; Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said in January. </p><p>(It&#x27;s possible to suspend the elections for that reason, but only until you&#x27;re able to get new electoral boards.)</p><p>&quot;Ibig sabihin, kung may electoral board ka na &#x27;di dumating, maghanap ka ng kapalit. &#x27;Pag dumating na iyong kapalit, start na ulit iyong election,&quot; he added.</p><p>(That means, if your electoral board can&#x27;t make it, you have to look for a replacement. Once that replacement arrives, you can start the elections again.) </p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2008400" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div><div> </div>

COVID-19 patients and those with symptoms of the respiratory disease are urged to stay home on election day, Health Secretary Francisco Duque said.

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DOH urges COVID patients to stay home on election day

DOH urges COVID patients to stay home on election day

Pia Gutierrez,

ABS-CBN News

Published Apr 22, 2022 02:20 PM PHT

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