AMID the increasing threat of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the World Health Organization (WHO) yesterday urged the Philippine government to widen its biosurveillance activities among incoming travelers, regardless of their country of origin.
In a televised public briefing, WHO Representative to the Philippines Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe said it is necessary for the country to have more stringent screening protocols by involving both Filipinos and foreigners arriving in the country.
“We must have stringent measures at points of entry, more importantly looking at the whole genome sequencing to detect the presence of Omicron virus,” said Abeyasinghe.
“We should not be looking for Omicron only from countries that have confirmed the virus for now because there are many countries that the virus maybe there. The variant may be there but (they) have no capacity for sequencing,” he added.
“Any returning overseas Filipinos or foreigners coming in who test positive, I think we need to do whole genome sequencing now,” he also said.
Aside from widening the scope, Abeyasinghe said it is necessary for the government to speed up the whole genome sequencing process, noting that “there is a tendency in the Philippines to delay sequencing samples, those that are four to six weeks collected earlier.”
He said this makes it necessary for the government to adequately equip the Philippine Genome Center in expanding its whole genome sequencing capacity.
“This is so we are better equipped to detect the entry of Omicron early enough and we can initiate appropriate control measures and alert levels, where we identify the variant to be present,” said Abeyasinghe.
Sought for comment, the Department of Health (DOH) said all arriving travelers, except for fully vaccinated individuals from Green List countries, are already required to undergo RT-PCR testing.
“Of those that tested positive, only those who have CT value of < 30 are eligible for sequencing, regardless of country of origin,” said Dr. Beverly Ho, head of the DOH Disease Prevention and Control Bureau.
Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said while border controls are in place, more attention and intensified monitoring should be done in the country’s porous southern border.
“Iyon ang dapat bantayan po kasi kung mayroong mga pumasok na mga Filipino Muslims from Sabah, from Malaysia or Indonesia at hindi po dumaan sa port or seaport, airport, eh ‘yun po ‘yung talagang kailangang mabantayan (It should be monitored because some Filipino Muslims from Sabah, from Malaysia or Indonesia might enter through there instead of passing through the ports or seaports, airports),” he said.
He said the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) have been given directives to strengthen border patrols and monitoring in the areas.
Año also said the PNP and local government units need to intensify the campaign against individuals violating health protocols.
“Everyone should be careful and those who are yet to be vaccinated, they should get themselves vaccinated. Authorities should convince people who are yet vaccinated to go to the vaccination centers,” Año said.
Aside from stricter border control, Abeyasinghe said the country should make sure that all other aspects of the COVID-19 response are readied.
“WHO has always said it’s better to be prepared, more prepared than have regrets later.
So, preparedness is more important so that we do not have to regret if we did not prepare and had a major surge,” said the WHO official.
“Under these circumstances, the precautionary approach, the risk-based approach adopted by the country is important,” he added.
Asked if the alert level system adopted by the Philippines is sufficient, he answered in the affirmative.
“We need to manage the risk of COVID-19 without harming the economy and protecting lives. And so, the transition from the quarantine classifications to the alert levels, which allows greater economic activity, is welcome and we support that,” said Abeyasinghe.
He, however, stressed that vigilance is necessary given the potential presence of the Omicron variant in the country.
“We need to be very careful in monitoring the situation for all potential presence of Omicron in the country. We will need to decide whether we need a further increase in those alert levels or we can continue to with the current alert levels,” said Abeyasinghe.
Cabinet Secretary and acting presidential spokesman Karlo Nograles said Alert Level 2 was retained in Metro Manila because the region, as well as other parts of the country which are under the same alert level, are not ready and not qualified yet to be downgraded to Alert Level 1.
Nograles said the government is “tweaking” and finalizing the parameters and guidelines for the lowest level in the alert level system amid the Omicron threat.
“Sa ngayon po mayroon pa po kaming tini-tweak at pina-finalize na mga parameters. So right now, hindi pa tayo handa na mag-declare ng any Alert Level 1 sa ngayon (We are still tweaking and finalizing the parameters. So right now, we are not ready to declare any areas under Alert Level 1),” Nograles said.
President Duterte on Monday approved the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to retain Alert Level 2 in the National Capital Region from December 1 to 15.
Nograles said Alert Level 2 was maintained in NCR because it met the criterions, such as the required average daily attack rate, two-week growth rate, and healthcare utilization rate.
He said the government is prepared to raise the alert level in NCR and any other areas at any time and if there is a need for it.
Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said there was still no need to raise the COVID-19 alert status in Metro Manila since presence of the Omicron variant has yet to be detected in the country.
“Our alert level system is based on case transmission and healthcare capacity. As of now, the entire country is under Alert Level 2, except Apayao. We have good numbers, (on Monday) we only had 600 plus new cases nationwide,” said Año.
“We are not yet raising our alert level because our numbers are good and we need our economy to recover,” he added.
But Año said NCR’s alert status will be raised once the Omicron variant is detected in the metropolis. “Once Omicron enters, the equation will be different, expect us to raise the alert level. But as of now we’re good (at Alert Level 2) until December 15. That’s the latest resolution (of the IATF),” he said. — With Jocelyn Montemayor, Victor Reyes and Ashzel Hachero
