Gov't monitoring travelers from South Africa, etc. as part of measures vs. Omicron -BOQ

The national government is monitoring passengers from South Africa and other nations that detected the B.1.1.529 coronavirus variant or Omicron, which is believed to be more infectious than the Delta variant, the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) said Sunday.

In an interview on Super Radyo dzBB, Dr. Roberto Salvador Jr., BOQ deputy director, said they have yet to detect travelers from Omicron-hit countries.

"Inutusan ang BOQ at DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government) na i-locate ang travelers na posibleng galing sa affected country ng variant," said Salvador.

(BOQ and DILG were directed to locate travelers possibly from affected countries of the variant.)

"Sa ngayon, wala pa tayong namo-monitor na kababayan galing sa affected country," he added.

(We have not monitored any of our countrymen who came from these affected countries.)

Salvador said the Omicron variant is believed to be 500 times more infectious than the Delta variant.

"Dahil sa bagong variant ng COVID-19 na kinatatakutan ngayon dahil sinasabing nakakahawa ng 500 times more infectious sa Delta virus," he said.

(The new variant of COVID-19 is believed to be 500 times more infectious than the Delta virus [variant].)

First detected in southern Africa, the B.1.1.529 strain of COVID-19 was declared by the World Health Organization on Friday as a variant of concern

Meanwhile, the BOQ official reminded those coming from "green list" countries to strictly follow home quarantine rules which will make sure that their family will not be infected with COVID-19.

Those under green list countries, which means it is low-risk for COVID-19 transmission, may skip facility quarantine upon arrival provided they show a negative result of their RT-PCR test taken 72 hours before departure.

The Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) approved a temporary travel ban on inbound travelers from South Africa, Botswana and other countries with local cases or with the likelihood of occurrences of the new variant. The other countries are Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini, and Mozambique, which are adjacent to South Africa and Botswana.

This ban will be effective immediately until December 15.

The government also removed South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe from its green list.

The Department of Health meanwhile has recommended a ban on travelers from Hong Kong after the detection in the territory of the Omicron variant. —KG, GMA News