The Department of Health (DOH) identified eight close contacts of the Philippines’ first two cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, seven of whom tested negative for the coronavirus.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said, one was the close contact of the 48-year-old returning overseas Filipino who arrived from Japan, while seven are close contacts of the 37-year-old Nigerian national from Nigeria.
The close contact of the returning Filipino had tested negative on Dec. 4, Vergeire said. She said the Filipino had only one close contact on the plane because he was seated in business class.
Six out of the seven close contacts of the Nigerian national tested negative and completed their mandatory quarantine, she said.
The test results of the remaining close contact are still being verified.
She said the Nigerian sat at the end of the plane, so the DOH counted only those in front of him and on his side.
Vergeire said close contacts are identified by counting four seats in every direction from the positive case.
Meanwhile, the samples of the two Omicron cases will be collected Thursday for their repeat RT-PCR test.
Vergeire said there is no reason to raise the alert level system, despite the detection of the Omicron variant in the country, because the DOH follows certain metrics in lowering or raising the alert level system in an area.
“For now, we see no reason to immediately raise our alert level system,” Vergeire said in Filipino during a media briefing.
“We will continue to monitor [the situation] so that at the first sign of an increase in cases, our response will not be delayed,” she added.
Currently, all areas in the Philippines are under Alert Level 2.
Despite fears that the Omicron variant may lower the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines, Vergeire said jabs can still offer protection.
“Let me just remind you that even if the effectiveness of vaccines is lowered, it can still provide protection against COVID-19,” she said. “I urge everyone to get vaccinated. This is one of the things that we should do right now in order to protect ourselves and our family.”
Vergeire also said the DOH has been discussing the test kits that can supposedly detect the Omicron variant.
Should the government procure the test kits, she said these may be used in far-flung provinces.
Meanwhile, Vergere said the travelers from Burkina Faso and Egypt did not test positive for the Omicron variant.
The DOH previously reported that three travelers from South Africa, Burkina Faso, and Egypt tested positive for COVID-19.
“The three from Burkina Faso, Egypt, and South Africa. The one from Burkina Faso tested positive for Delta, the one from Egypt has no lineage assigned,” she said.
An infectious disease expert on Wednesday said there is no need to extend the mandatory 14-day quarantine period after the Philippines detected its first two cases of the Omicron variant 15 days after arrival in the country.
On Dec. 15, the Philippines detected the variant of concern from two international travelers, a 48-year-old returning overseas Filipino that arrived on Dec. 1 and a foreign national that arrived on Nov. 30.
“Fourteen days would be enough and within those 14 days, there should be close monitoring and observation among those close contacts of the index case,” Dr. Rontgene Solante, a member of the Vaccine expert panel, told CNN Philippines.
Under the new guidelines, fully vaccinated travelers will be required to have a negative RT-PCR test conducted within 72 hours prior to departure from the country of origin.
They will then undergo quarantine facility-based quarantine and take an RT-PCR test on the fifth day. Regardless of a negative result, they will be required to undergo home quarantine up to the 14th day from the date of arrival.
Solante said some countries are increasing their quarantine period.
“In some countries, they’re increasing the observation period from 14 days to 21 days especially for those with contact with the Omicron variant,” he said.
While the DOH said it was tracing the close contacts of the passengers with the Omicron variant, Solante said all passengers must be traced and re-tested “to be safe.”
Travelers from said flights were advised to reach out to the DOH through DOH COVID-19 Hotlines at (02) 8942 6843 or 1555, or their respective local government units to report their status.
Former health adviser Dr. Tony Leachon on Wednesday urged the national government to impose a travel ban on all countries to prevent transmission of the Omicron coronavirus variant, which has already been detected in the Philippines.
Leachon said the Philippines should emulate Israel’s policy, which closed borders to all countries to halt the spread of Omicron.
“Many Filipinos are returning. Omicron is mild but it is highly transmissible,” he said in Filipino on radio dzBB.
He also suggested to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to reconsider quarantine policies to extend the period of isolation for inbound travelers.
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said it would immediately implement the updated policy on the country’s green, yellow, and red lists.
In an advisory, BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said that 41 countries have been included in the Philippine’s green list, as set by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
Included in the country’s green list are: Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, British Virgin Islands, Chad, People’s Republic of China, Comoros Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Hong Kong (Chinese Special Administrative Region), Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Montserrat, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Rwanda, Saba (Special Municipality of The Kingdom of the Netherlands), Saint Barthelemy, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sint Eustatius, Sudan, Taiwan, Timor-Leste (East Timor), Togo, Uganda, and the United Arab Emirates.
On the other hand, those in the red list are Andorra, France, Monaco, Northern Mariana Islands, Réunion, San Marino, South Africa, and Switzerland.
Countries not mentioned are automatically included in the yellow list.
Travelers coming from the red list countries, or with a travel history there 14 days prior to arrival to the Philippines, may not be allowed entry.
In red list countries, only Filipinos coming from government or non-government initiated repatriation flights or bayanihan flights may enter. Vito Barcelo