President Duterte will cut short his Christmas vacation to meet the government's pandemic task force and other experts to discuss the new COVID-19 strain, Malacañang announced Friday.
In a text message, presidential spokesman Harry Roque confirmed that Duterte called the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases and other infectious diseases experts for a meeting Saturday at the Malago Clubhouse in Malacañang.
(RICHARD MADELO/ PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Duterte's long-time aide Sen. Bong Go likewise confirmed the sudden meeting, adding that the Chief Executive was “very concerned” about the recent development in the pandemic.
"Manila po sa Malacañang. Cut short muna namin Christmas break (It will be in Malacañang. We will cut short our Christmas break for now)," he said.
Duterte flew to Davao City earlier this week to celebrate the holidays.
In a photo shared by Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte Carpio, the President can be seen enjoying a meal with his former wife Elizabeth Zimmerman inside their home.
Temporary suspension of flights from UK
Last Wednesday, Duterte approved the temporary suspension of flights from the United Kingdom (UK) to the country from Dec. 24 to 31 following reports of a new variant of COVID-19 known as B.1.1.7 spreading across the European nation.
All passengers who have been in the UK within 14 days immediately preceding arrival to the Philippines, including those merely in transit, are also temporarily restricted from entering the country for the same period.
On the other hand, passengers already in transit from the UK and all those who have been to the UK within 14 days immediately preceding arrival to the Philippines, who arrive before Dec. 24, shall not be subject to entry restriction but they would be required to undergo stricter quarantine and testing protocols.
Vaccine efficacy rate Meanwhile, an official of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said that the reported 50 percent efficacy rate of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by China's Sinovac Biotech is "acceptable" based on the minimum requirement set by the World Health Organization (WHO).
“The 50 percent efficacy is acceptable because that is the minimum requirement set by the World Health Organization for a vaccine to be used by a country,” said DOST-Philippine Council for Health Research Development Executive Director Jaime Montoya on Thursday.
“We have to also bear in mind that the vaccine efficacy may actually change—it may go up or it may go down—as more and more people are using it when they are actually rolled out,” he added.
Reuters recently reported that Brazilian researchers said "Sinovac Biotech's vaccine against COVID-19 is over 50 percent effective in latestage trials."
Montoya said that further review is needed to have a better understanding on the performance of the said COVID-19 vaccine.
"We have to look at the data. We are talking here of the overall vaccine efficacy which, if it is true, is at 50 percent," he said.
Montoyo said that it is better to choose a vaccine that has a higher efficacy rate.
"If we are given a choice and we have to prioritize, of course definitely, the vaccine efficacy that is higher would be the preferred vaccine," he said.
3-week hotel quarantine in HK
In a related story, a report from AFP said Hong Kong extended its compulsory quarantine to three weeks for almost all international travelers from Friday, Dec. 25, saying the measure was needed to prevent new, more infectious, coronavirus variants from spreading.
The government said expert advice suggested that the incubation period of the virus could be longer than 14 days in some people – so passengers will now have to undergo compulsory quarantine in designated hotels for three weeks, rather than the previous two.
Only travelers arriving from mainland China, Macau, and Taiwan will be exempt from the tighter restrictions.
The government also announced a ban on people who have stayed in South Africa in the past 21 days from entering Hong Kong.
A new variant of the coronavirus, believed to be more infectious, has been spreading in South Africa, and several other countries have placed restrictions on travelers from the nation.
Since Tuesday, flights from Britain have also been banned from Hong Kong, following the discovery of a new strain of coronavirus there.
Health officials said two students returned to Hong Kong from the UK might have been infected by this new variant.
56% more contagious
A mutated coronavirus strain spreading in Britain is on average 56 percent more contagious than the original version, scientists have warned in a study, urging a fast vaccine rollout to help prevent more deaths, an AFP report said.
The new variant, which emerged in southeast England in November and is spreading fast, is likely to boost hospitalizations and deaths from COVID next year, according to the study published Wednesday by the Centre for Mathematical Modeling of Infectious Diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Researchers, focusing on the English south east, east and London, said it was still uncertain whether the mutated strain was more or less deadly than its predecessor.
"Nevertheless, the increase in transmissibility is likely to lead to a large increase in incidence, with Covid-19 hospitalizations and deaths projected to reach higher levels in 2021 than were observed in 2020, even if regional tiered restrictions implemented before 19 December are maintained," they said.
The authors warned that a national lockdown imposed in England in November was unlikely to prevent an increase of infections "unless primary schools, secondary schools, and universities are also closed."
Any easing of control measures, meanwhile, would likely prompt "a large resurgence of the virus."
This meant that "it may be necessary to greatly accelerate vaccine roll-out to have an appreciable impact in suppressing the resulting disease burden."
In announcing more stringent lockdown measures over the Christmas holiday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Saturday the new viral strain "may be up to 70 percent more transmissible than the original version of the disease." (with reports from AFP and Bloomberg)