Pinaalalahanan ng World Health Organization (WHO) ang gobyerno ng Pilipinas na bantayan din ang mga bansang wala pang kaso ng Omicron variant ng COVID-19.
Ayon kay WHO Representative to the Philippines Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe, mayroong mga bansang walang sequencing capacity o walang kakayanang naka-detect ng COVID-19.
Dahil dito, dapat aniyang magsagawa ang Pilipinas ng whole genome sequencing sa lahat ng returning overseas Filipinos at mga dayuhan na una nang positibo sa COVID-19.
Kailangan aniyang maisagawa ng mabilis ang genome sequencing at pagtuunan ang mga sample mula sa recent arrivals sa nakalipas na 10 hanggang 14 na araw.
Iginiit pa ni Abeyasinghe, dapat itong gawing prayoridad kaysa magsagawa ng whole genome sequencing sa lahat ng COVID cases sa bansa.
“But I want to reiterate again that that risk-based approach should not only target countries that have already confirmed the Omicron variant in travelers or in citizens. They need to be aware of the fact that many countries have limited capacity for whole genome sequencing and that’s why I’m advocating that any returning traveler from overseas should be sequenced as a priority so that we get a head start on being able to detect the arrival of the variant in the country, learning from previous experiences with Delta.” Pahayag ni Abeyasinghe.
