The Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) directed all travelers from the United States and other countries where the new Covid-19 strain FLiRT, were detected to undergo rigid screening before entering the Philippines.
Health Sec. Teodoro Herbosa on May 27 said he had ordered the Bureau of Quarantine to conduct a thorough screening of all arriving passengers originating from countries where Covid FLiRT has been detected.
He reminded all travelers to complete the health questionnaires available on the e-travel applications. He advised those with symptoms of Covid-19 to just isolate themselves at home.
“We are facing a new Covid-19 strain that has the KP.1 and KP.2 variations, which are parts of the newly-discovered subvariant identified as FLiRT, novel virus spreading globally, ” noted Herbosa.
He related that they came from JN.1 subvariant which first became known in late 2023. It was responsible for this year’s earlier surge in infections.
DOH Assistant Sec. Albert Domingo said the primary series and boosters that most Filipinos received still provide “residual immunity.”
“We need to strengthen the remaining immunity. We need new COVID vaccines,” he added.
Infectious diseases expert and Philippine College of Physicians President Dr. Rontgene Solante said the FLiRT variants only pose a “low public health risk” but warned that the absence of newer vaccines make Filipinos – particularly the elderly and the immunocompromised – vulnerable to the virus.
“It’s sad because new variants emerge from mutations, and we are no longer protected by the first vaccines we got,” Solante.
“We are all vulnerable and so we should really be careful and watch out for our symptoms because we can get severe infections, especially the elderly, even if they are vaccinated,” he added.
Another infectious disease expert who asked not to be named underscored the need to mask up.
“Warnings are being released now by the government primarily because of the new strain’s contagiousness. We should retain the mask mandate because COVID-19 has not yet been eradicated,” the expert said.
The Singapore government said it had monitored a new wave of COVID-19 infections after its estimated count of weekly cases nearly doubled from May 5 to 11 with 25,900 cases compared to 13,700 cases in the previous period. About two-thirds of the new cases are due to the new variants.
FLirt was detected in the US and Canada, Australia, South Korea, Singapore and several other European countries like the United Kingdom.
Herbosa called on the general public to take basic health measures such as frequent handwashing, observing coughing etiquette and avoiding crowded situations.
According to Herbosa, the Department of Health has issued to BOQ the Bureau Memorandum number 2024-48 last May 24.
The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) on Monday clarified it is not imposing the use of face masks on travelers at Ninoy Aquino International Airport following the BOQ memorandum.
MIAA General Manager Eric Jose Ines likewise instructed terminal housekeeping service providers to disinfect items and locations where passenger contact exposure is high, such as check-in counters, immigration counter tops, and plastic trays used for final screening of passenger luggage and items.
The World Health Organization (WHO) Covid-19 Epidemiological Update said there are three new variants under monitoring: JN.1.18, KP.2 and KP.3. All variants of JN.1.
Variants KP.2 and KP.3 are the proper names of what is informally known as “FLiRT” variants. FLiRT is a nickname coined by some researchers to describe amino acid changes in the Covid-19 virus’ spike protein, specifically from phenylalanine (F) to leucine (L) at position 456, and from arginine (R) to threonine (T) at position 346.
WHO observed that there is no evidence that the KP.2 and KP.3 variants are causing severe to critical COVID-19, both locally and internationally. Further assessment is needed to determine transmissibility and capacity to evade immune response.
Meanwhile Herbosa said all the country’s regions still remain at low risk for COVID-19.
While there is an observed increase recently, the DOH noted that it is small and lower than previously observed increases.
Out of the new cases reported, seven had severe or critical disease. Five deaths were recorded, which occurred April 30 to May 13.
The DOH also said there is no scientific basis for travel restrictions.
The Health chief also reminded doctors, their clinics, hospitals and other facilities to accurately and immediately report cases of COVID-19, whether tested by PCR or rapid antigen test.
