Association of Medical Doctors of ASIA, founded in 1984, Consultative Status with UN ECOSOC since 1995

Activities

COVID-19 Outbreak: AMDA Philippines' Activities 6 - The 2nd Bayanihan Webinar

Publication date:2020-06-17

The 2nd webinar was entitled
"A Guidefor a Safe Workplace
in the New Normal"

On 6 June 2020, AMDA Philippines held the second Bayanihan Webinar entitled "A Guide for a Safe Workplace in the New Normal". Aimed at providing guidance and lectures on COVID-19 for both medical professionals and non-professionals, a total of 165 people took part in the event, of which 100 of them directly joining the session and remaining 65 viewing it on livestream. The five-week webinar series has been organized in collaboration with AMSA Philippines and *other local organizations since its launch on 30 May.

Even in the metropolitan Manila area, the so-called Enhanced Community Quarantine has been changed to general community quarantine since 1 June. This has enabled people’s outings except for the elderly people and youngsters in certain age groups. And although amusement facilities such as sports gyms and movie theatres have yet to resume full service, business activities in many sectors have started to be back on track. Accordingly, those who used to telecommute have gradually returned to their offices and workplaces.

In the webinar, Dr. Anna Sofia Slazar Fajardo (UPH-DJGTMC Medical Director, Philippine College of Occupational Medicine National Secretary) first touched on COVID-19 protection measures and what steps could be taken to secure a safe work environment. In the discussion that followed, Dr. Fajardo and Ma’am Fatima May Tesoro (Dean of the College of Pharmacy of the San Pedro College Davao) delved into the concept of “New Normal” and discussed how carefully we should act in accordance with the new norm until it gets fully integrated into our life in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Anna Sofia Slazar Fajardo

A slide explaining the concept of “New Normal”

A participant commented, “As what Ma’am Tesoro said, I agree with the fact that “invisible vaccination” is what protects us from the risk of infection. In order to fight the invisible virus, precautionary measures must not be conventional ones whether that is at home or in the office.” There was also a comment that said, “I learned that I should not sacrifice my own health for work. Especially at a time like this, what we should prioritize is our health conditions. In order to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, we need to cooperate. All of us should be responsible for our own actions. Not only keeping our working environment safe, but we also need to act for our peers in accordance with the guidelines set by the government and medical authorities.“