Amidst the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, the deployment ban Filipino nurses’ stays, according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Friday, August 14.
DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello III said in a statement the news regarding the statement that the government already lifted the ban on the overseas deployment of Filipino nurses. Bello referred these reports as “totally untrue” while adding that the deployment of nurses without the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration’s approval will be “illegal”.
The POEA imposed last April a deployment ban among several types of health workers as the human resources of different local hospitals are dwindling because of the growing number of patients with COVID-19. Another factor that influenced the leaving of these medical workers is the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine in some parts of the Philippines.
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Here are the medical workers covered by the deployment ban.
- Doctors
- Nurses
- Microbiologist molecular
- Medical technologist
- Biologist
- Clinical analyst
- Respiratory therapist
- Pharmacist
- Laboratory technician
- Radiologic technician
- Nursing assistant
- Medical equipment operator
- Health services and personal care supervisor
- Medical/hospital equipment repairman
In a previous statement, the government said that they will only lift the deployment ban of medical workers if the threat of COVID-19 in the country where they will be deployed will be relieved. Meanwhile, the deployment ban of nurses is based on the pursuant of the task forced COVID-19 “to ensure that the country’s health care requirement are fully met.”
Source Manila Standard
