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AND JOHN ERIC MENDOZA
President Rodrigo Duterte extended the ban on all flights from the United Kingdom for another two weeks while the Philippines secured its borders against the spread of the new variant of the 2019 coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
Duterte approved of Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr.’s recommendation to extend the ban during his meeting with Cabinet members on Saturday.
The government initially suspended flights from the UK, where the new Covid-19 variant was first detected, from December 24 to 31.
The president also approved during the meeting the Department of Health (DoH) recommendation for the mandatory 14-day quarantine of travelers from countries with registered cases of the new Covid-19 strain, including Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia, regardless of whether were negative in a reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test.
Duterte also endorsed the Department of Health’s recommendation that RT-PCR positive samples from UK travelers be sent to the Philippine Genome Center, Tropical Medicine Research Institute and the National Institutes of Health at the University of the Philippines. for genome sequencing.
The recommendation of the Executive Director of the Department of Science and Technology of the Philippine Health Research and Development Council, Jaime Montoya, “to strengthen genomic surveillance as part of biosvigilance to include target sequencing in high-risk groups such as conglomerates with more cases and with more severity and deaths ”was also approved by Duterte.
The executive director of the Philippine Genome Center, Dr. Cynthia Palmes-Saloma, said the new variant had not yet entered the country, at least according to the latest genomic sequencing done in October.
He added that the D614G mutation was still the most prevalent variant detected in previous sequencing.
The prevalence of D614G could also “partially explain” the increase in cases in June “in addition to the relaxation of quarantine measures,” according to a recent joint investigation by the V. Luna Medical Center and the United States Department of Defense. Research Institute of the Forces of Medical Sciences.
The variant, which is the most dominant in the Philippines and most of the world, first emerged in Europe. This is distinct from the new Covid-19 variant first reported in Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the virus.
The variant in the UK is believed to be up to 70 percent more contagious and is responsible for 60 percent of new infections in London, according to UK health officials.
Last Saturday, Health Secretary Francisco Duque 3rd told a cabinet meeting that a traveler who recently flew in from the UK tested positive for the virus, but it could not be determined whether the patient has the new variant.
In a statement Sunday, the Health Department said it could recommend a ban on travelers from countries with documented cases of the new variants in the UK and South Africa.
The experts will present their own proposals to the Interagency Working Group for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) at its meeting on Monday.
The government was also confirming reports that the new variant has been detected in Sabah, Malaysia, the country’s southern neighbor.
Tighten protocols
Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go said the country’s health protocols and travel restrictions must be strengthened, as the new strain could be lurking beyond its border.
He noted that the Governor of Sulu, Abdusakur Tan, had already consulted with the IATF-EID on how to handle the emerging situation.
“Because Sulu is only 29 hours by boat and a lot of people go around the back (it’s because it’s only 29 hours by boat to Sulu [from Sabah] and many others enter through the back door), ”Go said.
“Then, we will be more strict and we will monitor the coastal areas because there will be new health protocols [to be implemented] if this new strain is really true, “he added in Filipino.
The new strain has led to an increase in new infections in the UK. Singapore, Israel, Hong Kong, Australia, Denmark, Italy, Gibraltar and the Netherlands have also reported their first cases of the new strain.
WITH BERNADETTE E. TAMAYO
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