DOH: All inbound passengers positive for COVID-19 to undergo genome sequencing
MANILA, Philippines — All inbound travelers who test positive for COVID-19 are now being subjected to genome sequencing to check the presence of the more contagious variant of the virus, the Department of Health said Friday.
This directive came after the country detected its first confirmed case of the new and more transmissible variant first seen in the United Kingdom: a 29-year-old Filipino who arrived from Dubai.
“There was this instruction already that [the samples of] all arriving passengers who will test positive will be subjected to genome sequencing,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a briefing.
Previously, authorities conducted only random genome sequencing of the samples of incoming travelers who tested positive for COVID-19.
Genomic sequencing analyzes a sample taken from a diagnosed patient and compares it with others. It is used by scientists to determine the structure of the virus as well as mutations.
“We are prioritizing genomic sequencing of inbound international travelers who tested positive using RT-PCR. But [Philippine Genome Center] is expanding capacities to enable the shift to active biosurveillance to include sequencing of other RT-PCR positive samples,” the DOH said in a message to reporters.
Earlier this week, the DOH said it has started its weekly biogenomic surveillance or the collection of specimens from the vulnerable and at risk sectors to boost its monitoring for new COVID-19 variants.
‘Not feasible’ to impose total travel ban
The government is strengthening its genomic biosurveillance because it is “not feasible” for the country to shut its borders completely, Vergeire said.
“Our safeguard would be the biosurveillance that we will be doing and the strict protocols in our ports of entry,” she said.
Shutting the borders had been a significant issue in the country after the government failed to impose an early travel ban on China, where the virus first emerged, last year.
Malacañang announced Friday the country is extending for another two weeks the ban on foreign travelers coming from 32 nations and territories, including the UK, China and the United States.
UAE is still not included in the list of countries covered by the ban.
Filipinos coming from countries covered by travel restrictions are still allowed to enter the Philippines but they need to undergo quarantine for two weeks regardless of the COVID-19 test result.
With more than 494,000 infections and over 9,700 deaths, the Philippines battles the second worst COVID-19 outbreak in Southeast Asia. — with report from Xave Gregorio
- Latest
- Trending
