THE NUMBER of Covid-19 cases in the University has dropped significantly since the close of the previous academic year in June, the UST Health Service director said.
Health Service Director Dr. Sheryl Dionisio told the Varsitarian the number of Covid-19 cases tallied in UST dropped by about 70 percent, which she attributed to the school break.
“We saw a steady decrease in the number of cases from June. But even though there were no regular classes, there were still a number of reported cases in the University … mostly from our staff and employees,” Dionisio said.
The University is expected to hold more in-person classes this academic year under the hybrid modality, as no courses will be exclusively delivered online.
Dionisio said the vaccination rate in the University remained high, as 95 percent of students, administrators, faculty, and staff have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
About 60 percent of Thomasians have received their booster doses, she added.
Updated health protocols
In July, the University revised its health protocols after the government lifted the state of public health emergency due to Covid-19.
The filling out of health declaration forms in the Thomasian Online Medical Support and Services (ThOMedSS) has been made mandatory only for those experiencing Covid-19 symptoms, including “cough, colds, difficulty in breathing, shortness of breath, sore throat with or without fever.”
Before the change, all Thomasians were required to fill up the ThOMedSS health declaration to enter the campus and buildings.
The Health Service will also implement the following protocols for Thomasians who have tested positive for Covid-19 or had a close interaction with an infected individual:
- Asymptomatic close contact – no quarantine; mandatory wearing of face mask for 10 days
- Close contact and experiencing acute respiratory symptoms – isolation for five days since onset of symptoms; mandatory wearing of face mask for 10 days
- Confirmed asymptomatic case – isolation for five days since positive test result; mandatory wearing of face mask for 10 days
- Confirmed case with mild symptoms – isolation for five days since onset of symptoms; mandatory wearing of face mask for 10 days
- Confirmed case with moderate to severe symptoms, or immunocompromised – isolation for 10 days since onset of symptoms; mandatory wearing of face mask for 10 days
Those without symptoms and who did not come in contact with a Covid-19 patient will no longer be required to wear their face masks but are still “strongly encouraged” to do so, especially in enclosed spaces and indoor settings.
“It’s more of a shared responsibility since we are doing this for quite some time already, so we are quite equipped with the knowledge,” Dionisio said. Hannah Joyce V. Andaya
