Mayor Gatchalian thanks gov't for including PUMs in COVID-19 testing

Valenzuela City Mayor Rex Gatchalian initially expressed alarm over the Department of Health's (DOH) guideline excluding persons under monitoring (PUMs) from COVID-19 testing, as his city found five PUMs positive for the virus.

Gatchalian stated that the DOH's new classification effectively removed a category of individuals who are actually testing positive for COVID-19.

Previously, PUMs were defined as individuals exposed to a COVID-19 patient or with a travel history who did not exhibit symptoms and were required to undergo a 14-day home quarantine.

In response, Valenzuela City initiated its own localized mass testing, specifically including PUMs to identify potential carriers and efficiently allocate resources.

Following Gatchalian's concern, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles assured that PUMs will still be considered for testing at the national level, a move Gatchalian thanked him for.

Nograles stated that the Philippines would go "over and beyond" the World Health Organization's (WHO) new classification by including PUMs in testing.

The mayor believes that targeted testing, even of PUMs, helps conserve essential resources like manpower.