BY JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR and GERARD NAVAL
HEALTH Secretary Francisco Duque III yesterday called for stricter border controls and compliance with travel protocols in all international ports of entry in the country following the emergence of the Lambda variant of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which is said to be more infectious and transmissible.
Duque, in a briefing after the ceremonies for the vaccination of essential workers under the A4 category held in Clark in Pampanga, assured the public that the Lambda variant has not been detected in the country yet based on the 7,000 samples sequenced by the Philippine Genome Center.
The Lambda variant, which was first detected in Peru in December 2020, has been declared by the World Health Organization as a “variant of interest” as it noted that it was “associated with substantive rates of community transmission in multiple countries.”
The WHO has said that Lambda carries a number of mutations that may lead to potential increased transmissibility or possible increased resistance to neutralizing antibodies.
Scientists in Chile — where the Lambda variant has been blamed for more than a third of its infections — have also warned that it appears to evade vaccines better than other strains.
According to the Health Ministry of Malaysia, the variant has already been detected in more than 30 countries in just the past four weeks.
WHO Representative to the Philippines Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe said the variant cannot be considered as a “variant of concern” just yet.
“Lambda, at this point in time, still remains a variant of interest,” said Abeyasinghe, adding: “We are still studying it. But it doesn’t warrant a classification as a variant of concern at this point in time.”
Abeyasinghe said multiple expert groups are already assessing the features of the variant.
Foremost of which, he said, is that they want to know if it causes the virus to be more transmissible, leads to more severe disease, or is resilient to currently available vaccines.
Infectious disease expert Dr. Rontgene Solante said the DOH is concerned over the potential that the new COVID-19 variant carries, which he said may cause another surge in COVID-19 cases in the country.
“If you talk about a variant that is highly transmissible, then that will be responsible for surge of cases and hospitalizations,” said Solante in a separate interview.
Worse, he said it may be deadly for those considered part of the vulnerable sector, such as senior citizens and people with comorbidities.
Duque said that since further studies are still being done on the Lambda variant and that it would be better to wait for the results before more drastic steps are taken, it does not mean that the country’s protocols should be relaxed.
He said strict border control has been effective so far in preventing the local transmission of the Delta variant of COVID-19, and the same policies would apply against the Lambda variant for now.
“Hindi pa siya variant of concern at ang ating pamamaraan ay ganoon pa rin — strict border control. Napatunayan na natin na ito’y epektibo dahil nga sa Delta variant ay wala pang nakakalusot ni isa sa atin pong mga komunidad, wala pa pong local case or local transmission. So iyan po ang paigtingin natin, ang border control (It is not yet a variant of concern and our policy remains — strict border control. This has been proven effective because no Delta variant has slipped into the community, there is local case or local transmission. So, we need to intensify that, the border control),” he said.
So far, the COVID-19 variant cases detected in the country are the Delta (India/B.1.617.2), Alpha (UK/B.1.1.7), Beta (South Africa/B.1.351), Gamma (Brazil/P.1), and Theta (Philippines/P.3).
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque again reminded the public to remain vigilant and continue following minimum health protocols.
Asked if the current travel ban would be expanded due to the new variant, Roque pointed out there are no direct flights between the Philippines and Latin America at present.
He said that the government will monitor developments on the variant and “will act accordingly.”
BAGUIO CITY
Meanwhile, the Baguio City government has opened the country’s summer capital to fully-vaccinated travelers sans a negative RT-PCR or antigen test.
A memorandum issued by Mayor Benjamin Magalong stated that fully-vaccinated travelers only need to present their COVID-19 domestic vaccination cads issued by a legitimate vaccination establishment or certificate of quarantine completion showing the holder’s vaccination status as issued by the Bureau of Quarantine.
The memorandum, which took effect yesterday, said fully-vaccinated travelers still need to prevent a QR-coded Tourist Pass (QTP) which can be secured through https://visita.baguIo.gov.ph.
It said they must also present a valid government-issued identification card.
An individual is considered fully-vaccinated two weeks after receiving the second dose of a two-dose series, or two weeks after receiving a single dose type of vaccine. Vaccines administered should be recipients of an Emergency Use Authorization, Compassionate Special Permit from the Philippine Food and Drug Authority or included in the Emergency Use Listing of the WHO.
If not vaccinated or not fully-vaccinated, the memorandum said the traveler needs to present negative results of antigen or RT-PCR test conducted within 72 hours prior to entry to the city.
“In the absence of negative test results, the traveler shall submit himself/herself for testing at the Baguio City Central Triage Unit,” the memorandum also said.
The Baguio City Tourism Office said fully-vaccinated travelers are still required to undergo mandatory triage upon arrival. It said they should present the QTP at the triage “for health and documentation verification.”
“Symptomatic travelers or whose antigen test result will yield a positive result shall be refused entry or be referred to the nearest health facility,” the tourism office said on its Facebook page.
The Baguio City government said it is limiting to 3,000 the number of daily tourist arrivals to prevent a surge of COVID-19 cases.
Records show that since June 1, the daily tourist arrival in the city during week days and weekends reach 1,500 and 1,800, respectively. The number is expected to increase with the relaxed travel restrictions among fully-vaccinated individuals.
At present, some 374 hotels and transient houses in the city have been allowed to accept tourists. — With Victor Reyes
