The Philippines should revise protocols for inbound international travel to guard against the entry of the French variant of COVID-19 that is undetectable by the gold standard RT-PCR test, a think tank advising the government said Wednesday.
Filipino authorities are battling a surge in infections that is driven by virus variants that emerged in the Philippines and abroad. The outbreak is testing the capacity of the health system and forced stricter quarantines for 24 million people in Metro Manila and surrounding provinces.
For one, quarantines should be mandatory for international arrivals, said OCTA Research fellow Guido David.
"May bagong variant na hindi na-dedetect ng PCR test... Kung ganun ibig sabihin ayusin natin ang international travel protocols natin," David told Teleradyo.
"Dapat pag may papasok na returning Filipinos o tourists dapat mandatory na ang quarantine period kasi hindi nadedetect ng PCR," he added.
OCTA Research also urged government to intensify contact tracing measures and "scale up" COVID-19 testing.
First detected in the Brittany region, west of France, the "variant under investigation" raised alarm in March after several individuals exhibited symptoms but tested negative for the virus.
French authorities had to get samples from blood or deep in the respiratory system to confirm the infection from the variant which does not appear more deadly or transmissible.
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