Expert to gov’t: Trace, test all fellow passengers of 2 Omicron carriers

FILE PHOTO: Colorized scanning electron micrograph of an apoptotic cell (red) infected with SARS-COV-2 virus particles (yellow), also known as novel coronavirus, isolated from a patient sample. Image captured at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Maryland. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH/Handout via REUTERS.

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) said Thursday that not all passengers of the flights boarded by two positive cases of the Omicron COVID-19 variant need to be traced and tested again, contrary to the suggestion of an infectious disease expert advising the government on vaccination.

In an online media briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire assured that the co-passengers of the two positive cases from Philippine Airlines flight PR 0427 and Oman Air flight WY 843 were quarantined upon arrival in the Philippines.

“Lahat po ng sumakay sa PAL at Oman Airways flight na ‘yan were quarantined when they came here in the country. Naquarantine sila ng limang araw base sa IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force) protocols. Tinest sila on the fifth day. Lahat ng nagnegatibo ay pinauwi para maghome quarantine or self-monitor,” she said.

(All who boarded the particular PAL and Oman Airways flights were quarantined when they came here in the country. They were quarantined for five days based on IATF protocols. They were tested on the fifth day. All those who tested negative were released to undergo home quarantine.)

“Hindi po natin kailangan i-quarantine lahat kung dalawang daan man ang nakasakay dyan para atin pong itest dahil sila ay nagtest na na negative, mayroon silang pre-departure na negative test, mayroon silang fifth day na quarantine at nagnegatibo pa rin sila. We are just asking for all of these passengers to monitor themselves,” Vergeire added.

(If there were 200 passengers in those flights, we don’t need to quarantine all of them because they already tested negative. They have a negative pre-departure test. They also went through five days of quarantine and still tested negative. We are just asking these passengers to monitor themselves.)

“Napakaliit na po ng risk ng ating mga kababayan na ito para magkaroon ng sakit na ito,” she further said.

(The risk for these people to have the disease is really low.)

But in an earlier interview with CNN Philippines’ The Source, Dr. Rontgene Solante, chief of the Adult Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine unit of San Lazaro Hospital and member of the Department of Science and Technology’s Vaccine Expert Panel, said that all co-passengers of the two travelers should be traced and tested.

“There may be contacts prior to boarding or during the time when these two passengers were around on that plane so we don’t know. To be safe, all of those inside the plane should be tested and contact traced,” he explained.

According to Vergeire, the “epidemiologic identification” of close contacts in planes are only those seated in four seats in front, left, right, and behind the concerned case.

Vergeire said the sole close contact of the 48-year-old returning Filipino who arrived in the Philippines from Japan on December 1 already tested negative for COVID-19 last December 4. Meanwhile, six of the seven close contacts of the 37-year-old Nigerian national who arrived from Nigeria on November 30 have tested negative for the virus between December 2 to 3. The test result of the other close contact is still being verified.

According to Vergeire, the two travelers who tested positive for the Omicron variant remain in isolation and are being closely monitored. Their samples for repeat RT-PCR testing were collected this Thursday. Their close contacts from the plane are also being contacted to determine their latest health status.

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JPV