MANILA - The Department of Health is consulting experts on shortening the quarantine period of fully vaccinated medical workers exposed to COVID-19, its spokesperson said Tuesday.

If recommended by experts, health workers will be quarantined for 7 days and will be tested on the fifth day.

“Magpapalabas din po tayo ng isang polisiya kung saan we will be shortening the quarantine period of those close contacts who are fully vaccinated na healthcare workers para naman po hindi 14 na araw nawawala sa ating ospital,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire told ABS-CBN’s Teleradyo.

(We will be releasing a policy in which we will shorten the quarantine period of fully vaccinated health care workers who are close contacts so that they're not gone from the hospital for 14 days.)

"Ito po ay fina-finalize pa (It's still being finalized). We need to vet with our experts, but if in case they agree we are going to issue this policy po."

The agency is continuously hiring additional health workers, has prepositioned medical supplies in hospitals, and is helping them convert more beds for virus patients, Vergeire said.

The DOH expects the country's daily new cases to keep climbing over the "coming days or maybe weeks," she added.

• Philippines' new COVID-19 cases to keep rising: DOH

The Philippines on Monday tallied a record-high 18,332 new infections, bringing its total cases to 1,857,646. Of this figure, 130,350 or 7 percent were active infections.

• Philippines logs 18,332 new COVID-19 cases, highest since pandemic began

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