CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga — About 210 government and business sector stakeholders in Central Luzon participated in a webinar meant to discuss tuberculosis (TB) and coronavirus disease (COVID-19) response in the workplace.
The activity was organized by the Central Luzon Occupational Safety and Health Network (CLOSHNET) in partnership with the Occupational Safety and Health Center, Department of Labor and Employment Region 3, Department of Health Region 3 and the TB Platforms Project of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
CLOSHNET President Evelyn Lozano-Natividad discussed the vital role of their organization in promoting infection prevention and control measures for TB-COVID 19 response.
“Our group has been working with USAID’s TB Platforms for the implementation of TB in the Workplace since early 2019,” she said.
Composed of occupational safety and health officers, CLOSHNET is spearheading a campaign on infection prevention and control for TB and COVID19 specifically in the workplace setting.
USAID’s TB Platforms Multi-Drug Resistant TB Specialist Christian Villacorte and public health epidemiologist Troy Gepte shared infection prevention and control measures for TB and COVID-19.
Both of them explained the importance of ensuring a safe and healthy workplace before employees report for work.
Villacorte stressed the that infection prevention and control measures must be practiced at home, in the office and during travel to and from the workplace.
Handwashing etiquette, social distancing and the application of administrative and technical measures in the workplace need to be strictly implemented and monitored.
Gepte, for his part, said the employees’ physical and mental health should also be addressed by employers as the workforce embrace the challenges of reporting for work in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis.
USAID’s TB Platforms Chief of Party Marianne Calnan mentioned that the project will closely collaborate with CLOSHNET in promoting TB response in the midst of COVID-19 specifically in providing technical guidance on how to implement cost-effective infection prevention and control measures that will ensure occupational safety of employees in the workplace setting.
“It is important to prioritize employees’ health vis a vis employees’ productivity amid the COVID-19 crisis,” she stressed.