Philippines can only prepare systems while delaying entry of Omicron variant — DOH

Similar to the highly contagious Delta variant, the Philippines can only delay the entry of the Omicron variant in the country as the government cannot control or prevent this, the Department of Health said Monday.

At a media briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire that during this delay, the Philippines will be able to prepare for the variant.

“When we were preparing for the Delta variant, alam natin papasok nang papasok because borders are very porous talaga.  Pero ang ginawa natin, we were able to delay the entry of this Delta variant for at least a month,” she said.

(When we are preparing for the Delta variant, we knew that it will enter because borders are very porous. So with what we did, we were able to delay its entry for at least a month.)

“So doon sa isang buwan na nakapag-delay tayo, nakapag prepare tayo ng ating sistema, ‘yun ang ginagawan natin ngayon,” she added.

(During that delay, we were able to prepare our systems and that’s what we are doing now.)

Vergeire said the country has imposed stricter border controls and enhanced biosurveillance efforts.

“So hindi man natin mapigilan ng tuluyan o 100% ang pagpasok ng Omicron variant sa ating bansa, we just want to make sure that we are ready and everybody is prepared once Omicron comes in the country,” she said.

(So we can’t prevent its entry into our country. We just want to make sure that we are ready and everybody is prepared once Omicron comes.)

The Philippines has imposed travel restrictions over Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Belgium, Italy, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, The Netherlands, and Switzerland.

Meanwhile, the Inter-Agency Task Force, recently imposed new testing and quarantine protocols for travelers arriving from countries that are not on the red list.

Omicron transmissibility

Vergeire also stressed that the DOH cannot conclusively say that the Omicron variant is more transmissible than Delta or if it affects the efficacy of vaccines.

“So hindi po natin conclusively and definitely can say na Omicron variant is more transmissible because twice as much ang naapektuhan ngayon sa South Africa with this variant,” she said.

(So we cannot conclusively and definitely say that Omicron is more transmissible because twice as much is being affected in South Africa with this variant.)

Vergeire said the World Health Organization may release its information on the Omicron variant within one to two weeks.

The Health Undersecretary issued the remark when questioned about the report of independent monitoring group OCTA Research, which stated that an increase in reproduction number in South Africa indicated that Omicron is more transmissible than Delta.

In his report, OCTA fellow Dr. Guido David said. the reproduction number in South Africa increased to 4 from the previous 2.

I calculated the effective reproduction number of South Africa based on our model and obtained Rt = 4 (based on ourworldindata). This strongly indicates the omicron is highly transmissibility, twice as infectious as delta. @dzbb @dzrhnews @allangatus @DZAR1026 @News5PH @NewsRmn pic.twitter.com/eClEN1lGhs

— Dr. Guido David (@iamguidodavid) December 5, 2021

“This supports the view that the Omicron variant is at least twice as transmissible compared to the Delta variant. In a natural environment, this means a case of Omicron is likely to infect between 10 to 16 people,” he said.

Vergeire, however, said one must use other factors in analyzing a specific situation and not just the reproduction number.

“Well, unang-una, hindi lang ‘yung reproduction number ang tinitignan kapag ganito. We have to look at the other epidemiologic factors when we try to analyze a specific situation katulad nitong pagapekto ng Omicron variant dito sa lugar na ito,” she said.

(Well, first of all, you should not only look at the reproduction number. We have to look at other epidemiologic factors when analyzing a specific situation such as this Omicron variant.)

“So sa ngayon, we just err on the side of caution… Let us try to practice our safety protocols, we will strengthen our government response so we can be able to prevent the transmission of this variant,” she later added. — RSJ, GMA News