Metro Manila, Philippines — Health Secretary Ted Herbosa said on Wednesday, May 22, that there is no need to restore health protocols amid rising cases of COVID-19 abroad.
“No requirement for border control, mandatory mask wearing, and additional vaccination” Herbosa said in a media briefing.
He called on Filipinos to instead observe minimum public health standards such as proper cough etiquette, frequent hand washing, avoiding crowded areas, and providing good ventilation.
The health chief said that the utilization rate of hospitals for COVID-19 dedicated beds remains low.
“Although I’m watching the events unfold in Singapore, because I think Singapore has reported an increase in ‘FLiRT’… the new variant under monitoring,” Herbosa said.
The World Health Organization announced three new variants under monitoring. These are JN.1.18, KP.2, and KP.3 — descendants of the Omicron subvariant JN.1.
The last two, coined by scientists as “FLiRT” variants due to their mutations, are reportedly behind the rise of cases in Singapore, India, and the United States.
“But I will not recommend any border control that means banning travel or whatever to Singapore or to India,” the secretary said. “[P]recaution mo, you must be vaccinated at least or if you’re at risk probably advise don’t travel there muna… If you’re healthy, maybe a regular mask that you bring along to protect you.”
Herbosa said that while it is possible that the FLiRT variant may be present in recent COVID-19 cases, samples were still not enough for genome testing to determine the variant.
He reiterated that doctors and hospitals should report COVID-19 cases determined by antigen tests.
Additional COVID-19 shots?
Asked whether additional vaccination against COVID-19 is needed, Herbosa said: “That should be a personal discussion between a physician and you, the one with a request for vaccination. I think the ones that need the vaccination are only the high-risk people.”
Around 78.4 million people were fully vaccinated against the virus as of March 2023, higher than the government’s target of 78.1 million.
According to the DOH, nearly 24 million people got their first booster shot, while four million were inoculated with a second booster. According to its data, around 82.6 million Filipinos have been injected with at least one dose.
Herbosa previously said about five million Filipinos got infected through natural immunity.
On May 21, the DOH reported 877 new COVID-19 cases from May 7 to 13, averaging 125 infections daily, but “all Philippine regions remain to be at low risk for COVID-19.”
It added that seven out of the new cases had severe or critical disease, while the DOH also recorded five deaths from April 30 to May 13.
