Herbosa: No border control, travel restrictions amid COVID-19 rise in Singapore

Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Teodoro Herbosa on Wednesday said he would not recommend any border control or travel restrictions amid the reported increase of COVID-19 in Singapore.

At a Palace press briefing, Herbosa also said he would not suggest the enforcement of mandatory wearing of masks among the public.

''I'm not thinking border control, mandatory mask... I'm not thinking that but I'm advising every Filipino, since that's happening, that can come here, 'yung minimum public health standards,''' Herbosa said.

''No requirement for border control, no requirement for mandatory masks, no requirement for additional vaccination. But we're monitoring these cases,'' he added.

Earlier, it was reported that cases of COVID-19 have doubled in Singapore in the previous weeks. Due to this, the demand for COVID-19 test kits have also increased there.

In the Philippines, Herbosa said a private hospital, which he did not identify, encountered positive COVID-19 cases among their medical workers. 

He added that health officials in the country are monitoring the situation in Singapore where the uptick in cases was due to the FLiRT variant.

''Actually, there's only one hospital and that's just circulating, it's a private hospital... ang statement nila some of their health professionals have tested positive for COVID. If you look at our data, our epidemiological bureau, our utilization for hospitals are still very low for COVID-19, so 'di pa tayo tumataas,'' Herbosa said.

''Although I'm watching the events unfold in Singapore because I think Singapore has reported an increase in FLiRT... not flirtations... FLiRT, the new variant under monitoring,'' he added.  

Asked if it is possible that the FLiRT variant is already in the Philippines, Herbosa said, ''It's possible although the variant is not serious, that's why it's classified as variant under monitoring.'' 

The John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health said that FLiRT variant is being used to describe a whole family of different variants—including KP.2, JN.1.7, and any other variants starting with KP or JN—that appear to have independently picked up the same set of mutations.

Meanwhile, Herbosa said the DOH has been monitoring influenza-like illnesses.  — RSJ/KBK, GMA Integrated News